The Element of Creativity and Its Hope for New Beginnings In Our Lives

What gives me hope about our personal problems and challenges, our social problems and challenges, our global problems and challenges?

The fact this very moment, people may be having brainwaves and insights which can provide us with answers - new ideas, new products, new customs and laws, new ways of being and living, which will enable us to break free. 

Whatever the status quo, remember there are 7 billion people out there with thoughts running through their heads and the potential to change it. Anything can happen. Anything can change. It has happened before.

Things get re-imagined, re-created, re-shaped, re-worked. They can and do change.

Therein lies hope.

Even an eleven year old can change the world.

Some human ideas will stick, some won’t.

Some ideas will be practical.

Some whimsical.

Just as you couldn’t have predicted that Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest would become such a big part of your life 4 or 5 years ago, right at this moment, there are ideas getting ready to touch your life you don’t know anything about yet.

That’s the fascinating thing about life.

Whatever page of life you are on - let’s say Page 32…..

……there are authors and co-authors getting ready to write the other 68-78 pages with you.

These include besides Lady Luck, all the technological, political and social changes that will mark your future life.

Of course you can choose to let the cards fall where they may, or be an active participant in the reinvention.

By thinking about things you are currently doing and asking yourself - can any of this be done differently? Should any of this be done differently? 

And how could they be done differently?

By asking yourself these questions, you may come up with new variations on a theme….or a way to combine completely different ideas.

When guest poster Ajay decided to write a series of posts on Bangalore, he used the device of time travel to make the posts part narrative, part history, part city guide book.  You can see how superbly this turned out here, here and here.

When Rob Bresny decided to accept a job writing daily horoscopes for a city newspaper, he thought about how he could invigorate and elevate the genre.  The result: his cool, clever literary Free Will Astrology column. Here’s his personal account of how it came about.

Once you have liberated yourself to reinvent, nothing is off limits. See how reinventing the iffy horoscope genre liberated Rob Bresny to get whimsical and create a brand new calendar of holidays. 

George Saunders, whose work Semplica Girls was first mentioned first in The Element of Discovery and Its Hope for Oddness, brings us a fresh way of writing.

Company reinventions are just as fascinating. Imagine how much harder it might be for a company to change; how much legal, financial and bureaucratic red tape might be involved.

Yet 3M has done it.  Again and Again.

And so has IBM.  Who would have imagined they would get out of manufacturing computers altogether and still thrive?

How can you reinvent your life?

What are the best examples of reinvention that come to your mind?

Remember, your life is not lateral.

Your imagination and inspiration can explode in many different directions.

When you allow your imagination to freely cross boundaries between different fields and ideas, you can come up with something truly original and wonderful

Such as a pirate supplies shop that’s also a tutoring center.

Your imagination can be a workhorse or a wild horse.

When it is a wild horse - experiences can lodge themselves powerfully in your brain, creating irrational fears, irrational desires, irrational suspicions and irrational beliefs. Fears the world will end. Fears of destruction and loss. Fears which cripple you from taking action.

When your imagination is a work-horse, you have the power to change anything and everything in your life.

So tame and train the wild horse that is your imagination and channel it down a new path.

A path of new beginnings.

Reinvent your life.

Starting today.

And if you have a hard time breaking free of existing constructs, remember everything is impermanent anyway. 

The house you live in, the things you own, the Berlin Wall of ideas and concepts by which you live.

Everything will be repurposed and reinvented.

It’s just a question of time.

So don’t cling.

Let go.

Your fears. Your habits. Your way of life.

It’s time for a new beginning.

Imagine it. And then do it.

Dear reader….thank you for reading this post. If you have time, please read my favorite story regarding impermanence, a Sufi story in which a king asks his wise men to give him something to stabilize his inner life.  Have a great day and week and see you next week…….M……a Pearl Seeker like you.

The Element of Defiance & Its Hope For Women

The Precursor of Women's Pant-Suits - as defiantly worn by Lucy Stone in 1853

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When women were disadvised against careers such as medicine, because they might lose their “feminity” and become “unsexed”, Alice Blackwell decided to rock the boat.

Alice Blackwell persisted even when everyone thought she was a joke, and got admitted in medical school; She persisted again to be able to practice medicine - becoming the first woman doctor in America.

When women were denied higher callings, here was a woman who refused to be denied a higher calling - who by her defiant pursuit of what she wanted, paved the way for all the woman doctors, engineers, etc. of the future.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women.

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When women were believed to be too feeble-minded to vote, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a band of brave women, including Lucretia Mott and Susan B Anthony among others, decided to rock the boat.

Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments, and 68 women and 32 men signed it at the first women’s convention in Seneca Falls New York.  Stanton and the National Woman Suffrage Association ceaselessly pursued woman’s suffrage throughout their lives, leading to the passing of the 19^thAmendment, 17 years after Stanton's death.

When women did not have representation in government, here was a band of women who defiantly fought for it, until that representation was finally won.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women.

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When women had no property rights, earned less than half of what men earned for the same work, and had to subordinate themselves first to their father’s will, and then their husband’s, when it came to everything including personal decisions such as what to wear, whether to have children, and how many children to have, Lucy Stone decided to rock the boat.

This tireless woman’s rights activist fought for the right to vote, for equal pay, for property rights, for more comfortable clothing, and refused marriage until the enlightened Henry Blackwell came along and won her over by believing in everything she did, and drawing up a contract with Lucy, to make sure her rights were protected, even were their marriage to end by divorce or death.

When women were not on an equal footing to men and had few rights, here was a woman who defiantly refused to accept the status quo, and did everything in her power to change it; going for victory on every front, including the right to keep and use her maiden name after marriage.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When segregation laws stipulated that black folks give up their seats to white folks in buses, Rosa Parks decided to rock the boat.

She refused to give up her seat, and in having the courage to do so, was arrested for civil disobedience.  By this inspiring act of courage, Rosa Parks showed Black Americans that they should stand up for their rights as American citizens and human beings; the Civil Rights movement was born, eventually leading to the passing of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964, ending segregation.

Yes,when black Americans were treated differently from whites under the law, here was a woman who defiantly disobeyed the law and refused to take it anymore.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women.

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When everyone - from Freud to Mead to the media to business to advertising pundits - were steering women back to “home” and “kids” and “family”, Betty Friedan decided to rock the boat.

She wrote her famous 516 page tome to expose the false premises behind the idea that “home” and “family” are the primary sources of a woman’s satisfactions or dissatisfactions.

Yes, when women were being brainwashed back to home and hearth, here was a woman who refused to sit back and let the brainwashing happen and was outspoken about it.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women.

What gives me hope for the future of women?

When most women still believe they can’t play like the big boys, and run a business and also have a family, women such as Meg Whitman and Stephanie Fohn and Marissa Meyer have been rocking the boat.

Meg Whitman as the former CEO of Ebay, and now CEO at HP, Stephanie Fohn as the CEO of White Hat Security and Marissa Mayer as the CEO of Yahoo, have shown us that it is possible to manage companies and have a family.

Yes, when most women still believe that a woman can’t have it all, these women have led by example.

That’s what gives me hope for the future of women.

Dear Reader - the course of a woman’s life is based as much on what she rejects as on what she accepts.

All through history, women have accepted the idea that men’s needs are more important than theirs, men’s roles are more important than theirs, men are equipped more than women to shoulder responsibilities, men need to be educated more than women for work outside the home, women need to do the work of the home, and men have divine and legal rights to dictate what a woman can and cannot do, and should and should not do.

Women like the ones mentioned in this post, risked being ridiculed, shunned, ostracized, imprisoned and criticized, but still decided to challenge the status quo and rock the boat. Labelled idiotic, unladylike, unpatriotic, foolhardy, trouble-making, unfeminine and misguided for their efforts – they didn't let anything stop them.

Today, as we enjoy the fruits of their work, whether it’s the right to property, the right to vote, the right to equal pay for equal work, the right to be treated fairly in death or divorce, we should imbue ourselves with the spirit of these courageous and determined women, so if a time comes when we need to Lucy Stone or Cady Stanton an issue, in either the public or the personal sphere, we're up for it and can do it. I hope you will read the histories of these remarkable women and be inspired to blaze your own trails. Cheers and a high-five to that….. …...M…..a Pearl Seeker like you.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great day.

The Element of Discovery & Hope For Oddness

Cropped Version of Apple Computer's first logo.  One of 2 Homages in This Post

What gives me hope?

The element of discovery.

The fact that at any point in time, the discovery of something new or someone new can change one’s life. Even if one is on the odd side....

Some Short Stories….

Short Story 1….

Odd Girl Gets Break

Once upon a time when teenager. Odd Girl.  Liked to read books but did not like to go to school or college. Liked words, but did not speak much. (Very Shy). Liked to read (words), study (words), play (word) games, write (words). Could not speak words that good. When out on a date, only danced. Wordlessly. Like wind-up ornament on Musical Box.  Couldn’t even say “Too bad you didn’t get The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With at a Party for a date.” That tongue-tied. Odd Girl odd in other ways.  Wore shades day and night. Like Michael Jackson.  Only not a celebrity. One day Odd Girl wrote some words. Odd Girl sent these words to THE newspaper. That time, newpaper was THE newspaper, not a newspaper.  Editor said ha-ha and published. Encouraged, Odd Girl wrote again.  Editor said ha-ha. Published Odd Girl’s words again. Odd Girl’s writing spotted by Mela, friend of sister of Odd Girl. Copywriting job was available at company where Mela worked. So interview happened.  So job offer happened. Odd Girl became Odd Copywriter. Happily ever after.  Until green card.

How this a discovery story?  Simple. Mela discover Odd Girl.  Odd Girl discover advertising. Odd Girl become Copywriter.  Discovery story simple like that. Not complicated.

Short Story 2….

Odd Girl Gets Going

Odd Girl now Odd Copywriter starts writing words for shoe polish and soap. Odd Girl's words not appreciated like when Odd Girl sent words to newspaper.  In ad copy, more angles than geometry. So Odd Girl asked to write same thing again and again. Final ad : Soap of Stars, Shoe Polish of Champions. Not what Odd Girl should be paid to write. So Odd Girl gets going.  Walks. Looking for Holy Grail. Odd Girl gets going so much sometimes back to previous agency. Everywhere Soap Of Stars, Shoe Polish of Champions.  Not like newspaper days. Odd Girl gets FED UP. ‘Odd Girl FED UP’ different from ‘Odd Girl gets going’. Odd Girl FED UP means Odd Girl ready to take her own chances. Husband takes care of bills while Odd Girl tries new experiment.  Mariam, Odd Girl’s friend from her HTA (JWT) days discovers plan. Mariam speaks to Chari. Chari puts Odd Girl on a retainer at Sistas. So Odd Girl becomes Proprietor of Purple Patch. Life as before - even able to do aerobics with Kamlesh etc. Only now Proprietor of Purple Patch. Happily ever after.  Until green card.

How this a discovery story? Simple. Odd Girl discovers Mariam. Mariam discovers Odd Girl available for retainer work.  Odd Girl becomes proprietor of Purple Patch. Discovery story simple as that.

Short Story 3….

Odd Girl Gets An Idea

Green card not yet. Odd Girl turned Copywriter turned Proprietor of Purple Patch busy but not too busy. So when Odd Girl gets teaching request from Loyola College, Odd Girl says yes.  How did Odd Girl who could not speak become Odd Girl who can teach? Miracle.  Life like that. Odd Girl’s grand adventure, Purple Patch doing well. More work that Odd Girl can handle.  While teaching copywriting class at Loyola, Odd Girl gets gleam in the eye.  Like Newton.  Like Archimedes. Looks at students seated before her. Why not hire some of them to write for Purple Patch? Young people. First jobs. Still in college. Affordable. Like Fast Food companies. Of course, in fast food, sometimes not young people, not first job, instead bread earners and single mothers and it is first and last job.  Then sad.  Then fairness question.  But this story not about inconvenient truths.  This story about discovery.  So back to story. Odd girl hires 4 Loyola students as apprentice copywriters in Purple Patch. Good for students.  Good for Odd Girl. Happily ever after. Until green card.

How this discovery story? Loyola College discover Odd Girl can teach copywriting class. Odd Girl discover students to join her team. Simple. Not complicated. Discovery work like that.

Dear Reader. Hope you enjoyed this post which pays homage to, and attempts to imitate, the whiz that is George Saunders and his Semplica-Girl Diaries. George Saunders has been in the limelight recently for his commencement speech at Syracuse University. Both Semplica-Girl Diaries and the Syracuse commencement speech are well worth your time. 

P.S. If there’s something about you that's odd, but harmless - congratulations, consider yourself a certified member of the human race.  If there’s something about you that’s odd and harmful, well then, you do need to do something about it.  For starters, how about reading my posts How To Become A Low Maintenance Person or How Many Times A Day Do You Visit Ireland? If there’s nothing odd about you, lucky you - just make sure not to make the rest of us, who have an oddness or two, or several oddnesses, feel bad. Oh, and one more thing, steer clear of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. It is designed to unsettle even the most fortressed  ‘Stepford wifeness’  and ‘non oddness’. Me being odd already, I was perfectly safe to read it, enjoy it and agree with its premises. 

Thanks for reading and may you live a discovery filled life. Indeed, with the Internet and Google and Wikipedia, none of us have any excuse not to lead a discovery-filled life …..….. M…..a Pearl Seeker like you.