Saturday, March 31, 2007

Resilience

This week focuses on resilience. How do you stay on course when you are full of self-doubt? How do you pick yourself up after a rejection? Are you able to see the silver lining?

I experienced a rejection this week. I might have taken it harder in the past, but I had this feeling that it just wasn't meant to be. I trusted, without knowing why, that something better would come along and amazingly enough, it did. Other times, I've felt completely rocked by a rejection. I have trouble shaking it off and I'll just stop working. That next small thing that Cameron talks about is helpful. And finding some way to get playful is also helpful for me. How do you find the strength to pick yourself up and get back to it?

Some resiliency linkage:
Books: Expecting Adam by Martha Beck (great book), The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (haven't read this one, but I've heard good things), The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo (love this one.)
Art: Sacred Resilience by Cheryl Tamborello, the mixed media art of Miranda Lake.
Symbol: In China, plum blossoms (that survive harsh cold) and bamboo (that bend in the wind without breaking) are seen as symbols of resilience.
Movie: Frida (one of my favorites. I love her art too.)

Keep on keepin on,
Leah, Creative Every Day

14 comments:

Jessie said...

oh leah, i love these links on resilience! thanks for sharing them. and i love how you expanded this notion of resilience beyond the self. frida kahlo and plum blossoms (and the others that you listed too!) are such incredibly inspiring examples of artistic hardiness. you've given me something to think about.

Anonymous said...

Great links! This is the 2nd time today I've read about the movie Frida - I must see it now.

I haven't started reading this week's chapter but I'm really looking forward to it.

Anonymous said...

This is definitely the chapter I need this week. I'm a teacher on my last stretch. This is always my most busy time because...WAIT! There's still so much more to teach. My most important goal? Just to love the kids and nurture myself too.

I appreciate the plum blossom image because it's a visual I can play in my mind over and over.
thanks for sharing!

The Dream said...

nnnnnice!!!
when the going gets tough, the tough retreats to a bubble bath and some meditation.
thanks for the links - have a good week (all the best tomorrow).

Anonymous said...

This is so weird, but I picked up the book "The year of magical thinking" while I was at the library a few days ago - and I put it down in favor of a memoir. Crapola.
Oh, and Frida.. she's my girl.

Mich said...

Thank you! I've been having a tough time at work these last couple of months, and this helped to remind myself to keep grounded. I really enjoyed writing this.

And as for the links - yay! They're great!

Jane said...

Leah, great post! It really resonated with me today. Thank you for these links and also for your words of support on my post today.

Anonymous said...

Resilience.....such a powerful word. I think JC has illustrated the power of this word in her book.
Though I'm finding it a bit toxic to read the redundance of it....it's realism and it's a piece of her.
Thank you for posting the links.
I'm going to check those out.

Mich said...

This beautiful movie will lead you into a satisfying sense of presence with every viewing. A beautiful and soothing way to remind you of the sacredness every moment brings.

If there is any stress in your life, you need this movie.

If you feel like there is never enough time, you need this movie.

If you'd just like a moment to call your own, YOU NEED this movie.


http://www.holysplashoftimemovie.com/

Tinker said...

Thanks for all of the cool links, Leah. I'm off to go explore some of them now~

Laura B. said...

I recently read Expecting Adam, and it's incredible------I'd recommend it to anybody. Whether you have children, are thinking about having them, love education, love writing...anything. Overall, though, yes---it's about resilience.

Hélène Deroubaix said...

dear leah,
thank you very much for sharing your positive energies with me with your comment at my blog.

I don't know the book finding water but I've been talked a lot about that book 'the artist's way" and the morning pages...wish I could find these books for cheap,maybe at ebay or amazon, should have a look:)

I think it must be inspiring!:)

I have been killed by the rejection from that magazine especially because for once I give it so much belief!
I thought they would find me and my art interesting enough and so the "too similar" just knocked me down

it's like forgetting we're all unique individual and our art expresses this uniqueness, our own idosyncrasy etc

now I know I am a water sign so I'm awfully emotional and even when I'm in my drama I still can see myself from afar,laughing ,using self derision to stand up and go past the rejection.

all in all I still trust my work!
it's my life,my soul,I cant reject or deny that.

I adored Frida, that movie truly shaked me,all the pain she had lived...at the end I was really moved and absent.
I felt how it could be possible a woman so talented and beautiful could suffer so much always and again.

I think you're right to trust that there will be something better coming, I still believe there will be other doors for me:)

what helps me find the strength to pick myself up and get back is that I'm an artist,it's in my veins.
no matter what I just cannot stop painting and making collages because it's the way I live and express, I re-construct myself and find more about what makes my identity

I also love remembering that the awesome tori amos got rejected so many times before her success!this always fascinate me because I just adore her music and voice and I can't understand people haeven't seen that talent,that amazing uniqueness in her!

I live with self doubts as a normal company yet I do trust my soul so we sometimes found a balance this way ahah ;-)

Blessings & water lilies***

Anonymous said...

Hello :) I've been slacking and haven't kept up with the book lately, but I remembered you were talking about rejection and just found this post on Keri Smith's blog, The Wish Jar, that is very relevant. Enjoy! :)

http://tinyurl.com/3y9vlj

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