How To Be Creative Juicy Bold

Recently I was shooting photos at a thrift store…talk about a haven for bold inspiration!!

“At night I write about my day to see how full it was, and I try and better it the next day.”–Red Shoe Artist

Did you read that little quote my friend Red Shoe Artist said? That’s bold. And…my purpose for this blog post today is to discuss the importance of being bold in beginning my Creative Juicy Life. I had this post all mapped out in my mind as I drove home from work. Just to get some of my ideas out I wrote a note post to my Creative Juicy VIPs in the VIP Room. I talked about how my day began as super stressful…and I found myself slipping into the drama. Then, as I was about to fall off the edge, I stopped and asked myself if this was Creative Juicy? Of course my answer was no. Then I asked myself: what could I do right NOW to make my life better and easier?

I thought of three things…one, to change my attitude. And immediately, as I looked around my classroom that I was prepping…I thought how Creative Juicy lucky I am. I realized in my heart and head that there are people in far worse scenarios…people unemployed, with families, illness, or hefty mortgages that would do anything to be standing where I was. Then a feeling of gratitude began to eat my negativity away, and I felt at peace again. My life went back to Creative Juicy!

But tonight…after I wrote that note post, I sat with it for awhile then realized that what I said was simple and almost trite. Lots of times when people complain about their lives…someone will chime in and remind them of people starving, homeless, etc. This is something we humans do…we try to imagine how much more worse things could be, to somehow weaken the intensity of the struggle we are currently feeling. It’s like the flip side of “the grass is always greener on the other side”. In times of hardship–its easier to make ourselves feel better by looking at the landfills, instead of the manicured lawns.

I realized, in my thoughts about this note post I wrote…that once I stopped my mind from taking a train ride, and I became more aware…..how easy it was for me to come to this realization, and then cheer up. But honestly, the acceptance I began to feel was only on the surface…and if I am to live a true Creative Juicy Life…I need to be bold. In this sense of boldness, I embrace my life. I embrace the world around me. I embrace what is thrown at me. And I don’t look at the manicured landscaping or the overflowing landfill I look at exactly what is standing in front of me: my own Creative Juicy Life in full color and 3-D. It is then, if this picture gives me sorrow, stress, or pain…that I ask what can I do right NOW to make my Creative Juicy Life better…to make it easier?

Thinking that it could be worse…that’s an easy way out. Hardships and stressful times will come crawling back to you over and over again if that’s how you medicate their pesty presence. A Creative Juicy Life calls for boldness. And in being bold, you will look at the landscape of your life, and embrace it. Take those stressful moments and pain, and use your creativity to squeeze the juiciness out of them. That’s what being bold is about. Stepping fully into the Creative Juicy Life one foot at a time…one day at a time…one moment at a time. You don’t have to jump out of a plane, or paint a ten foot painting to be bold. You need to look nowhere but within and open your arms to this great, big, Creative Juicy Life you are about to begin.

“At night I write about my day to see how full it was, and I try and better it the next day.”

(Exactly Red!! Thanks for helping me define what is bold.)

Peace & Love.