Thinking Blossoms

Fathers Day Inspiration and Creativity

I decided to write an entry for Fathers Day because I was moved by Seamus Heaney reading on radio 4 this morning. I went hunting and found a poem by Heaney that speaks to me about what we do relative to what our fathers (and of course mothers and other influential people) do/did. Heaney's personal experience of his father digging while he writes touches on a universal. We are different from our fathers but something continues.

I chose this photo of laburnums in the Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden because my father took me to see horticultural gardens and I click away at the same kinds of images he would have loved to share. he had a roliflex camera, a darkroom and an enlarger. I have a digital camera and a computer, and you can click on the photo to enlarge. This is my first Fathers Day since he died age 95.

Here's Heaney's poem. Our work and expression are in a different world from our parents, but what are we  continuing from and what is the same about us and our creativity?

The Language of flowers and a business model

(Click on photo to enlarge) Today I decided to pick a flower photo that is beautiful, look at it and then decide what to write about it. I'm starting by just responding to what is there. We bring so much meaning to what's around us in life and it's also good to consider what meaning life can bring to us.

My first thoughts are about stopping to look, to appreciate, to enjoy the colour and the form. I could translate that into stopping, resting, taking a break, just being, and more meanings like that.

Or I could consider what the plant is up to...

Exactly what is inspiration?

(click on photo to enlarge)  Here's an utterly perfect camelia, I think it has the sort of beauty people call 'achingly beautiful'. In a sense there's nothing much to say about it because it just is. Everything about it is delightful, the colour, the shape, the petals, the detail and the way it stands out against the dark shiny leaves. It's inspiring just to look at it without adding any meaning, at least I think it is.

Inspiring? Exactly what does that mean? What's the change in me when I look at something so beautiful, and of what use is it  when I still have to empty the rubbish bin and get to an appointment in a hurry?

Life work balance or a balanced life including work?

(Photo - a carpet of primroses amongst ancient oaks, click to enlarge)

"If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!"

*** Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) American Author ***

(quote courtesy of David Gurteen, www.gurteen.com )   Of course it's uncomfortable reading in environmental terms. It's got me thinking in another way too. There's leisure, in which we do nice things by choice, such as going for walks in woods, and work, in which we do what we have to do, take the rough with the smooth, got-to-make-a-living sort of thing. People often talk about ' Life work balance ' , but are life and work indeed separate?

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

In general I'm quite an energetic person but sometimes,it has to be said, I run out of energy, motivation,get-up-and-go, whatever one wants to call it. And sometimes when I set out for a walk I don't feel like it, I don't know where I want to go or feel like exploring. That's why I've chosen this photo of where a path leads round a corner into obscurity. In another mood it might be enticing and interesting to wonder what is round the corner, what's to be discovered in the shadows and what might be beyond the obscured part of the path. But today that photo represents not really feeling like making the effort. Of course I know it's a passing mood and a state of mind over which I have a great deal of control!

I know something else too...

Networking Styles - Learning from the flowers and bees!

Spot the bee. (Click on the image to enlarge.) Are you a flower or a bee?

I learned this analogy from Damien Churton, www.yournaturalway.com . What I make of it is that as a networker you are either buzzing around bee-fashion, or in one place being highly visible and rather nice to the buzzy bee types.

I know both types. There are uber-bee-type networkers who belong to at least one breakfast club and frequently visit others, and who buzzaround all sorts of eventys and places where prospective clients and contacts are likely to be. They either have good cars and environmentally unfriendly petrol bills or they live inhabit the rich 'flowergardens' of big cities.

Meanwhile the flower networkers dress well, have great websites and business cards and are just in the right places waiting for bees. Nice.

You might be noticing how your networking style is relative to

Finding Your Niche

This foxglove has found a niche. It's doing pretty well considering that it doesn't have much soil. It has definitely found itself a place in the sun, niched in a south-facing warm wall.

In business there is much talk of finding your niche. It's a useful concept in the workplace too, being in a suitable position to do the work that best suits you. In my line of business, coaching, there is much talk of finding your niche and I know of: wealth coaches, business coaches, a Dentist’s coach, an entrepreneur coach ( www.the-entrepreneurs-coach.com ) and even a flirt coach ( www.findtheloveyouwant.com ). Mark Forster has made a very successful career in the Time Management niche. He's a contributor to my book 'Good Question!' and you can download Mark Forster's chapter for free by clicking on the picture of the book cover to the left here.

But I want to think a bit here and question 'finding your niche':   

Celebrating what is already close at hand

I went out about eight o’clock yesterday evening to catch the brief last flush of sunlight before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. These wallflowers were lighting up the hedge and the edge of the pavement with an extra golden glow. Just ordinary wallflowers and an ordinary moment. It’s a reminder of how important it is to look at what is close at hand that is already good in life. It lifts the spirits. We may be busy meeting deadlines and aiming for goals, and quite rightly so, but it’s so helpful to stay connected with where we already are in life. We can celebrate small realities and achievements as well as striding ahead in the right direction.

Smell the coffee, yes, and smell the flowers!