Laura spoke about her Creative Bagel Time (and I urge you to read if you're looking for a way to help you create or even just to get out of your rut). When Laura and I worked together, she talked about her Creative Bagel Time all the time. It wasn't until she wrote this post that I got a good idea of what she was doing - and a snapshot of what she does, what she reads, what supplies she brings, and, of course, what she eats. :-)
I was so inspired, and I knew this was something I wanted to do for myself.
I made plans this last Tuesday to do my first own Creative Bagel Time. I got up, got the girls to school, got dressed, cleaned the house (I'm not an idiot, although I play one on my blog - you'll see why in a moment why I decided to clean my house), all of this while I'm thinking about embarking on my first ever Creative Bagel Time.
Think I was procrastinating a bit? Yeah, me, too.
It was uncomfortable for me to do something new and different, to step out of my own box. Once I recognized this (after the clean house), I decided that I HAD to go. I couldn't let a little discomfort hold me back.
So I went to a little cafe that I'd never been to before in Laytonsville. I'd heard that they had wonderful scones, and Laytonsville is a little village nestled in amidst the ever-spreading suburbia. I brought two journals, Now What? by Laura Berman Fortgang, and a bunch of writing books to work on Write Well U.
I didn't get a scone because the croissants looked scrumptious (and they were - omigosh - I'll go back just for the croissants - forget creative time!). I got a big cup of tea and settled in. I wrote in my journal about my vision for Write Well U and what my life will look like when I reach my targets. Following one of Fortgang's exercises, I described scenarios of possible ways to get to those targets.
Feeling even more inspired, I went on to do some research for Write Well U and work on some (three!!!) of the programs I'm developing. I spent 2 1/2 hours, 1 cup of tea, one croissant, one pastry filled with cream (another yum!), and 12 pages of notes.
It was a success, and Creative Tea Time was born. (I'm not a big fan of bagels, so tea is more appropriate, and hopefully less fattening - if I can just stay away from the croissants). I considered calling it Creative Croissant Time, but people already make fun of me for saying "croissant" correctly, so I figured that would always be a stumbling block for me. :-)
For me, it gave me time to create (duh!) and to dream, two things I want to continue. Even after I left, I was still in the mindset of creating and dreaming. It's a nice change from the constant barrage of DOing. Yes, I was DOing something while I was there, but I was also BEing in the moment and in the dream of what I'm trying to accomplish. It was so much more than just DOing.
Of course, I came home to a lot of DOing after my 12 pages of notes. :-)
And, by the way, it was nice to come home to a clean house.
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