No lesson learnt?

The two You tube posts below are both feel-good moments by themselves. But taken together, they beg the question, has Simon Cowell learnt nothing? I guess he gets paid a lot of money and wins a lot of viewers by being mean and cynical, so perhaps we can forgive him. But really ... you would think after Susan Boyle he would stop judging books by their covers (as Charlotte reminds us not to do) !!

The thing that really worries me about this obvious lack of learning - in Simon and the Britain's Got Talent audience - is how many times have I failed to learn my lessons? Did I even realise that the Universe was trying to teach me, or did I close my eyes and fall back into the same old patterns?

Mother tried to teach me how to thread and use a sewing machine many times. But I refused to learn. Now that I have a passion for using my machine, I wonder how much time was wasted because I refused to learn a valuable lesson?

I don't have any comforting words to end this train of thought off with. Every person must be responsible for their own learning and their own time. I'm betting that Simon Cowell still has not learnt his lesson, and that is his tragedy.

JONATHAN ANTOINE AUDITION - BRITAINS GOT TALENT 2012

Original Version. Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream.

In the Flow, or, How Crafts Improve my Psychological Health

Throughout adulthood I have found visits to various psychiatric institutions most helpful. Some visits have been a lot more life changing than others. I’ve had the privilege (and cynical me actually means this earnestly) to visit Addington and Parklands in Durban, St Marks in East London, The Crescent in Cape Town.

Allow me to go hopelessly off the topic and share with you that, although I was held up during an armed robbery at the sweet shop of one of these hospitals,  the legal drugs in my system helped to ensure I suffered no added psychological damage. My poor Best Friend was more traumatised, not having the drug induced cotton wool feeling to cushion the experience. However you will be glad to know she is progressing nicely in her therapy sessions and can almost go out in public again.

I find that the establishments which impact most positively in my life are those that include an Arts & Craft section. These occupational therapy sessions allow you to drift into a state of contentment. And it turns out that it is not just the drugs – although they help too! On the “outside” world – the chaotic and unpredictable world – craft work still lulls me into a peaceful place. For me, meditation just does not achieve the same results.

So it has been an ongoing preoccupation ... what happens to my mind (or is it my soul? Or both? Or neither?) when I spend time playing with my threads and fabrics? And do other people experience this same state?

It seems that this feeling IS known to other people. I have actually found a description of the zone; an explanation of the zone, all sorts of interesting studies surrounding the zone. Google Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theories and studies on FLOW if this interests you at all.

For the purposes of these musings it is enough to quote from Ted Talks: “Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. A leading researcher in positive psychology, he has devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy: "When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life." He is the architect of the notion of "flow" -- the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake.”

Interestingly to me, to enter flow, one must be competent in the task at hand. It seems you can only lose your identity, sense of time, and so on – when you do not have to concentrate on learning a new skill. That could explain why I find some lessons exhausting and in no way relaxing, although they are most valuable.

It is NOT just me who enters a different “head space” when I get to play with my fabrics and threads. Occupational therapists offer arts & crafts for a very good reason. They dont mind that we emerge with paintings which could have been done better by three year olds. These lessons don’t only help to pass the patients’ days, they are psychologically healthy. And I already believe that there are links between psychological health and physical health. So it would stand to reason that there must be a positive link between flow (which promotes psycological health) and physical health.

If you spot something wrong with my reasoning, or if you have any comments please post them here. I’ll be back next Sunday to begin investigating “In the flow, or, How Crafts Improve my Physical health”, in the hopes that someone, somewhere, will benefit from these posts.

Bill Cosby

Evening all. Took a night off to watch Bill Cosby clips on YouTube. It was serious zone out time. Next post .... In the Flow (I'm working on the article in the back of my mind, while the front of my mind has a good giggle at Bill. Note: this might be anatomically incorrect, but you get the idea ...)

Good Stuff Offering - Charles Limb

Tonight’s web search culminated in a sixteen minute presentation by Charles Limb. It took me about three hours to choose this clip as my “good stuff to share” choice.

I started the search to look for a quilter who featured in a speech by Rosalie Dace. This particular quilter is legally blind. But when I searched the web for blind quilters, there were so many hits that I had not found the right person after an hour of searching.

I did come across presentations on Ted Talk and YouTube by Charles Limb. This particular speech from Ted Talk focuses on pinpointing the areas of the brain which are used in music; and the difference in brain activity between:

1)      Playing a piece of music which is learned

2)      Playing a piece of music which is improvised

I looked through various other clips, as I thought this one might be a bit long at about 16 minutes. But I honestly found this most interesting, and well worth the time.

It is a small piece of the puzzle – “where does our creativity come from & what inspires us to be creative?” I understand I am just scratching the surface, but I thought you might find it interesting too. (Another hour or so disappeared, looking around the web at the work of Charles Limb – and then I got distracted by other presenters on Ted Talk).

I was especially attracted to the work of Evelyn Glennie, a deaf percussionist who wants to teach the world how to listen. As amazing as she is, I still found the most fascinating material to be that of Charles Limb – I only mention her if you are interested in following this up.

So dear reader of this humble blog, I present to you, my “good stuff” offering for tonight:

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/1046

Friday and I'm exhausted

Tonight I am exhausted after a week at work.

I lay down to nap, but I could not settle. I realised that I had not had my fix of web images. An hour or two of clicking through web images of textile art; quilts and embroidery ... and I'm NOW ready for bed.

The nice thing about the web is you see art that you would not normally see. The bad thing is you have to search through a lot of crap to find the good stuff.

I plan to share some of the good stuff with you, but right now I  n e e d   t o     s l e e e   p.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear

I love this quote attributed to Buddha. It makes me think of important teachers in my life. I think I have been open to lessons and I hope that I always will be. Allow me to share my thoughts on one special teacher who came into my life, a dynamic and vibrant woman who is Ida.

In twenty years of therapists and soul searching I have realised that there are three things in my life, three special gifts of learning that have brought me close to being at peace with myself. The first is my crafts – the execution of, or just gazing upon, quilting; embroidery; textiles ... The second is the way in which my parents showed me to relate to a Higher Being. The third is a lady named Ida Gartrell, who taught me from the age of 9 until I finished high school at the age of 17.

We had moved to a new town and I was convinced that I NEEDED drama lessons. I think this was based on the experience of being the wizard in the Wizard of Id at an end of year school production.  I loved wearing the huge big scary mask. As my new school did not have drama lessons, I nagged Mum to fix things. I knew that she could fix everything, of course. I remember Mum telling me that she had found a lady at the library who might give me lessons. That lady was Ida. Ida came and interviewed me at our house, sitting at our dining room table. At the conclusion of the interview she said that she would give us her decision. I cried copious tears, my heart broken, convinced that this meant she would not take me on as a student. I had very little awareness of Ida as a separate person with her own life to take care of and decisions to make. Mum consoled me and gave me lessons in positive thinking, and looking at the brighter side of life. Somehow I managed to get some sleep that night, waking up in the morning with the proverbial butterflies in my stomach and living on tenterhooks until Ida’s decision to take me as a student was finalised. I never suffered as my fellow teenagers did, I worried very little about boys or fashion or discos. I had Ida’s lessons to see me through.

A relationship built on respect and love (and hero worship on my side) was begun. No matter how busy Mum & Dad were, and how inconvenient it was for them, they always managed to get me to my “drama” lessons with Ida. I say drama in parenthesis, because Ida teaches so much more than Drama. She teaches self confidence, self esteem, and the art of trying to accept everyone for whom and what they are. I did not realise it at the time, but Ida gave and still gives Occupational Therapy, Philosophy, Life Skills and Cognitive Therapy all at the same time.

I began to learn to think for myself, to question the world, to see that every action has a reaction; there are consequences for every decision which an individual takes. I learnt to take responsibility for myself.

Upon leaving school I did a year of drama at Natal Technikon (as it was known then), but it was strangely flat and completely uninspirational. I went on to University of KZN, Durban campus, to do a Bachelor of Arts – with drama as a supposed major.  But there again – there was no zap or zing to the drama classes and it was just a drag to attend. These lessons were nothing like my cherished times in Ida’s classes. What I did discover was Psychology, and I changed my degree to a Bachelor of Social Science with Psychology and Industrial Psychology as my majors. I let go of my drama lessons without a backward glance, knowing that they could never compare to lessons from Ida.

I now work as a secretary, and it might seem that I have not made use of my years of studying. However, I am forever thankful for my years with Ida and at University. The lessons I learnt broadened my outlook on life, making the world a more colourful and interesting place to live in.

Ida, I don’t see or talk to you as much as I would like but you are so often in my thoughts. Thank you for being the MC at the ceremony between Terry and I. Thank you for being.

Take heart dear friends and rely on Buddha – "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear".

Recycle, Revamp, Rework, post 1



Buxtons 1

I'm hoping to have something ready for the "Recycle, Revamp, Rework" exhibition which the KZN Quilters Guild are holding later in the year. I just love the entry form which states "A letter must accompany your quilt from a significant person (husband, pastor, vendor etc) stating that no NEW fabric has been purchased for the quilt top." On one hand it is so politically correct (the "greening" of quilting); and on the other hand so bizarre (the explanation of whom a significant person is). To me, it mirrors the contradictions and confusions found in all of us.

My idea is to concentrate on the textures and shapes of man made articles. My husband (Terry) obligingly stopped when we saw this little bit of construction going on at the (formally known as) Buxtons Shopping Centre. He even gave me a box for my interesting finds and waited while I took a few photos.

From the construction site we moved on to the beach and picked up items which have been washed up with the help of Cyclone Irina. Bottle caps in various colours (who would have thought bottle caps came in so many different forms?); a fork; a comb; bits of driftwood (which I could not resist although they might not be for this project). Then JOY of JOYS Terry found flattened & rusted beer bottle tops up in the parking lot. He patiently waited while I picked up lots and lots of  orange & brown discs (the rusted tops of course), occasionally reminding me not to get driven over by a car, which was more helpful than you might think. So we came home with ideas and images and physical objects, all saying "recycle, revamp, rework".

Now I need to plot everything on paper, and tomorrow morning I will be ready to start. Terry also helped me name this latest project - we were bouncing words back and forth and finally alighted on "Aftermath". So I go to sleep knowing that I have a name, some direction and lots of enthusiasm for the RRR project. Please look in on me from time to time, and I will keep you posted on progress.



My favourite you tube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXFRbCI&feature=colike

Jung

I remain fascinated by the need to create - where does it come from - the mind or the soul? This is what Jung has to say:

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves" CG Jung

Online Quilt Show

Fun online quilt expo at

http://willowbendcreations.com/InspiredToQuilt/expo-lobby

I could seriously do without the background noise of the home page; but I guess some people might like it. Otherwise, a great idea and well put together. Beware the time zone differences in the advertised features.

The true meaning of "angst"

The definition of "angst" as found in The Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com)

"Angst, often confused with anxiety, is a transcendent emotion in that it combines the unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible situation. Without the important element of hope, then the emotion is anxiety, not angst. Angst denotes the constant struggle one has with the burdens of life that weighs on the dispossessed and not knowing when the salvation will appear." The definition of "angst" as found in my life (otherwise known as "the true meaning ...") "What if I run out of time to learn all of the lessons I'm meant to learn in this life time?"

Perspective

Question: Buying a car - boring or exciting?

Buying a car to do chores = zzz (interest level about 1%)

Buying a car to get to sewing lessons = Zippity zip zap zing (interest level about 111%)

Answer: It's just a question of persepctive

I Choose Bewilderment

"Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment" (Jalal ud-Din Rumi).

I entered the shop and was immediately drawn to the sweetest cats on a pale yellow background. I held up the swatches of fabric I had brought with me, and discarded the lovable cats as being incompatible. I walked on. Stopped. Walked back to the cats. I began to THINK and ARGUE with myself. That was my first mistake. My second was going against my intuition. I bought the fabric, but somehow it just does not "work". Is it the tone or the hue or the colour? I am really too inexpert to know. I just know that the wrong side of my brain won the argument, and somehow the cats came home with me.

This is my pursuit ... allowing intuition to take over and ignoring other arguments. I can almost feel an area of my brain flexing itself, rather like pain after unusual exercise. 

Yes, I brought the cat fabric home. And yes, it did not make the cut for this present quilt. Instead, the cats sit looking at me and echo the following wise words:"Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment".

Ms Dase enters my head

Attended the KZN Quilters AGM as a visitor yesterday. Overheard women talking about getting their "material fix" as they bought some beautiful fabric. I understood what they meant so I reckon I must be a quilter. Birds that need the same fix tend to flock together. Absolutely no disrespect to birds meant. Be assured that no birds were harmed in the writing of this blog. Emotionally or otherwise.

Learnt about the upcoming Quilt Indaba 2012. Had a step by step demonstration on how to book on line - http://www.bookwhen.com/quiltindaba2012 . So its not just quilting you learn at these get togethers. And dont be at all intimidated - feel free to attend - they don't try and convert you, simply because they cannot imagine anyone not being a Born Again Quilter (No disrespect ,etc, see above).

Totally amazing to think such awesome talent was under one roof. I stared with star struck eyes at Sue Stevenson, Jeanette Gilks, Glenda Kirkirdis, Rosalie Dase. Their work gives me goose bumps - and that's just looking at pictures over the net. To think I might have drunk from a tea-cup which they had used !! Although I'm sure all crockery was washed to the strictest of standards so no DNA transferrence could have taken place. What a shame.

I did not take notes but Ms Dase spoke along the lines of where we have come from - yesterday; today; and what's in the future. An added bonus was I left with a new voice in my head (and here I thought there was no more space in there). Now whenever the critical voices attack my work I will say "Rosalie says I should concentrate on producing what I LOVE TO DO and not necessarily what other people approve of". Thanks Rosalie.