Class 2 ~ BE Alive

Continuing with our BEING theme, this week we talked about BEing Alive ... I define this as being in the moment, aware of your surroundings, active, plugged in, alert and engaged. There is a zing in the air and an enthusiasm for what's happening ~ because you're IN it.

There are many ways to do this, but the best way I've found is to step out of my comfort zone. This usually happens in one of three directions:

Step In:

I step deeper IN to whatever I’m already doing. It could be as simple as taking things slower or thinking about what my motivation is to be doing what I’m doing.

If it’s art, it’s usually a “zone” where I’m seeing something up close, and noticing things I hadn’t noticed before. For example, I recently participated in a collaborative project on moths. I’d never really thought much about moths before, but just doing the research on them gave me a new (and humbling) respect for the immense variety in nature and my place in it.

Step Out:

Do something different than what you’ve been doing. It may not be obvious, but I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to new experiences. Then one day I realized that at some point *every* experience I’ve ever had has been NEW at some point. Some new experiences turn out not so great, but others can be life-changing.

For example: aquafit. It was *so* totally NOT my thing (I thought). I hadn’t been in a pool since just after high school (a long time ago), I didn't own a bathing suit and I can’t swim. Three pretty strong arguments in favour of staying right where I was: in my “sorry, I can’t do that” comfort zone. But I did it to support someone else, someone who wanted (and needed) people to be there, comfort zone or not. So I may be a big chicken, but I also believe in helping people, so there I was, in the pool, wearing my practical version of a bathing suit and staying in the “hey, this isn’t deep” part of the pool. Final result? I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now ~ still wearing the not-really-a-swimsuit ~ but I’ve moved into a deeper part of the pool, loving aquafit and kicking myself for not doing it years ago.

I’m not saying you have to take up aquafit, but sometimes when your brain is supplying all kinds of reasons why you shouldn’t try something new, don’t take it too seriously. It might just be your fear of feeling more alive talking. I’ve always said if we, as babies, could remember how hard it was to learn to walk, we’d never try anything new in our lifetime. So … be like a baby … accept you’re going land on your bottom a few times before you get the hang of it. I call this kind of hesitancy (in my own actions) the Prima Donna Complex ~ the fear of looking foolish, of wanting to hit the floor perfect the first time out … think babies worry about that kind of stuff? Nope.

Step Up:

Ever been doing something you really like, but afraid to take it to the next step? Worried that you won’t keep up, either with your own expectations, or somebody else’s? Well, you’ll never know till you try. Sometimes it means being more public, like teaching this class, and sometimes it means being more private, like telling someone about your needs or your boundaries in your relationship. The thing is, nobody but YOU can do what needs to be done in your situation. I once heard it said: Those who see the need should be the ones to fill it. Especially true if you have the skills. 

For example, I like to organize things (you might have noticed), but sometimes that means I have to go out of my comfort zone and ask total strangers for things on behalf of the events I’m organizing. Pretty scary. But I’ve learned the worst they can say is “no”. But if you never ask, you never get a “yes”, and yes is where you really want to be in the end. Something to think about.

And here are the first three pages of your handouts for your journal:

In the next post, we'll move on to collage ~ get your scissors and gluestick ready!