The young woman huddles into her coat, trying to stay warm against the slight autumn chill in the air. It's impossible, though, as her hair remains damp after an exhausting swim team practice.
"I wish I knew who was picking me up," she thinks out loud. "Why can't they ever be on time? They know when practice ends."
A few of her teammates tumble out of the locker room laughing as they jump into the waiting vehicle of one of the mom's.
"I'm going to close my eyes and count to 50, that will make them get here."
Eyes squeezed shut. "47 . . . 48 . . . 49 . . . 50." She opens her eyes and there's no sign of either her mother's little brown chevy or her father's gray oldsmobile.
"Urgh! Okay, this time I'll count until 100."
This ritual of magical thinking repeats and repeats until finally, success! A car appears.
"I knew that would work," she thinks as she gathers her belongings to get into the car.
For some reason, creativity is one of the most misunderstood superpowers that we all have. Yes, its a superpower. If you choose to embrace it, and to strengthen your creative muscles, wonderful things can happen.
By you, I mean every single one of you. I can hear it now though, many of you are thinking "I'm not creative. I don't have a creative bone in my body."
Those thoughts are born from myths about creativity that come from a society which likes to have control.
Those were my thoughts just after I stopped at a red light this morning. I white Ford truck of some sort (F150?) pulled into the left hand turn lane next to me at exactly the same time as a white car pulled into the right lane on my other side. The male passenger in the truck and the male driver in the car both lowered their windows, and started calling across the road.
I happened to have started a call to my husband who picked up then, "Hold on, I said, there's something happening."
I thought my voice sounded panicked, but maybe I'm calmer than I think. My husband was focused on brewing beer, he didn't quite hear my distress.
I turned my head back and fort as if I was watching a tennis match. Waiting for the ball to drop, or, in this case, someone to make a move. Was I about to die in a road rage incident?
The turn arrow lit up green, and I realized they were people who knew each other communicating across my little red hybrid car. That was all.
In a recent interview for a possible contract job helping thought leaders in planning and facilitating their online workshops and programs, I was asked: "How do you deal with difficult personalities?"
In some ways, it feels like all we ever do lately is deal with difficult personalities.We live in an angry world. We've lost the ability to communicate across differences and disagreements because of entrenched beliefs that allow no room for discovering new ways of being an doing.
However, I don't subscribe to that. I am actively seeking ways to communicate better, to listen better, and to encourage some kind of neutral ground where we connect in a place of collaboration even if we don't fully understand one another.
For me, that space lies in creativity and collaboration. It lies in a willingness to search for the good, the beauty, the things that work, rather than everything that is broken and ugly. It's a difficult thing to do at times, especially when your are dealing with difficult personalities including your own doubts and fears.
Sometimes the most difficult personality we have to deal with is our own.
Today, I want to share the foundations of my approaches to building creatively with anyone, so that we all might begin to understand why I believe Creative Power is so important.
Lessons Learned from a Whale: Navigating the Seas of Spoutible
by Lisa A Kramer
My Relationship with Social Media
I confess, I have a love/hate relationship with social media.
I love the possibilities it represents:
The ability to connect with people all around the world, of diverse backgrounds and interests.
The ability to discover new ideas, explore amazing images and artwork, and support others in unexpected ways.
I hate the dangers it can represent (especially on a platform that is owned by a narcissistic asshole):
The possibility of being attacked or doxxed for a simple statement, or for your identity, gender, or belief systems.
The nauseating feeling that there is no real way to fight back against the above.
The possible time suck.
The feeling of invisibility that leads to loneliness when only certain accounts get all the attention.
I actually had stopped spending much time on social media, only popping into Facebook occasionally, sometime posting to Post or Mastodon, rarely popping into that place formerly known as Twitter. I struggled with the unfortunate reality that social media is both a place to connect , and also a necessary evil if you are trying to promote yourself or your work.
I say "necessary evil" because we live in the world of late stage capitalism, where money talks, and the more you have the more you can do. Choosing to go out on your own, even to create, is a challenging thing unless you have the funds to do it. I don't, and so I have to somehow promote myself without coming off as only promoting myself. It's a fine and difficult balance. I much prefer promoting others and supporting their work as much as I can.
Swimming Over to Spoutible
Things have changed somewhat, thanks to Christopher Bouzy and the creation of Spoutible.
In 2014, I published my first book, a piece of speculative fiction called P.O.W.er.
It tells the story of a young women living in a despotic culture where women are not allowed to read or write, and their required purpose is to marry young and make babies. However, Andra BetScriviner has other ideas when she discovers she has the ability to write things into reality, and that many women have unique abilities.
Her friends, including supportive men and people of diverse backgrounds come together to change society.
The leader of this country called New North (which in my mind was New England) was a horrible, greedy, ambitious man who believed he was the eye of god and had divine right to rule.
In 2016, I felt like I should apologize to the world. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of the book and its empowering message, but we had entered into a reality that sounded a little too familiar.
I know, my words did not make this reality happen.
When I was a senior in high school, I was voted most political. I didn't understand that then, except for the fact that I was one of the two senators representing my "house." My high school was huge, and we were divided into Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow houses--which mostly represented the color of the cafeteria and served as a guide for finding your classrooms. And, as divisions often do, it opened the space for rivalry.
So yes, I was a senator, but why was that the only accolade that I recieved? I never thought of myself as political. Heck, I barely thought I made a difference back then, or that anyone even knew me. (I can't remember exactly, but I think I might have won the senate seat because nobody else ran for the office. So" responsible, interested in helping the school. teacher's pet, outspoken . . ." those terms applied, but political?)
Many years have passed since then. 37 to be exact. And we all know that politics have become ugly. Many people who are comfortable in their privilege, avoid political discussions like the plague (although interestingly enough, many of those same people do not take steps to avoid Covid19).
Now, perhaps I understand why I was labelled as political. In a country (the US) where there are more and more divisive politics every day, I can see why I might be labelled political. However, I have no desire to rule, or become a member of a political system so broken that it seems impossible to fix. Kudos to those who step into the fray and try to make change from the inside.
Still, I rebuff the label "political" in exchange for the word
Somedays I doubt that my truth is true. I doubt that creative power can change the world.
This doubt is born out of the frustration, anger, and toxicity spouted so often by mainstream media, or political pundits, in order to get clicks. Because anger, drama, and pain sell more than beauty, hope, and love.
A Journey Into Memory and Story through Hadestown.
by Lisa A Kramer
Yesterday I went on an amazing journey. It travelled on waves of music into a land of myth and legend, through landscapes made of fire, mist, light, and song. We saw the touring production of Hadestown
Tears welled in my eyes. My breath caught in my throat at the perfection of every moment. I was enraptured by the story unrolling in front of me, and the music that filled the theatre. I journeyed with Eurydice and Orpheus into a land where memories can be destroyed, love does not always win, and power can destroy even our climate . . . but still there is ALWAYS hope.
You are receiving this because I’ve either already approached you about this project, or I know your work and would love for you to be involved. If you are not interested, please just let me know and I will remove you from this list (or you can unsubscribe yourself, of course).
I apologize in advance for the length of this letter. I simply want you to have as much information as possible.
I am writing because of a dream. For those of you who know me, I am always a big dreamer. This dream, however, is kind of the fruition of the past few years of my life, as I have started reinventing myself and finding new ways to create and collaborate.
I would like to invite you to contribute to an anthology I have begun working on called:
Reclaiming Goddesses: How to Bring the World into Balance
I have also been thinking a lot about dreams and goals.
The problem is, that it sometimes feels like you can't have one without the other, and unfortunately we live in a world where the money often comes first. I want to change that so much. Dreams and goals should not only be available to those who can afford them.
I took a scary (for me) leap yesterday , and launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds to publish my book RE-CREATING THE WORLD: THE POWER OF COLLABORATIVE CREATIVITY.
Why was it scary? Because its hard for me to ask for help, especially in the form of money. I struggle with feelings of failure when I realize that I am not financially secure. I sometimes fall into that gremlin-filled wormhole that tells me I haven't been
doing enough . . . working hard enough . . . creating a platform big enough. . . . being enough enough.
That's probably not a surprise, but the thing is that I finished the first draft in 2020. Then, I gave up on myself. I thought the book was good and had potential. It is a book that truly represents me and my goals for the future. But I let my gremlins talk me out of it, so the book simply sat there being sad. Gremlin of Doubt I couldn't face the fear of rejection, of not doing it right, of not finding an agent, of being completely wrong about my own work. I was mired in the world which believed that the only legitimate books were traditionally published, and that I would never find that perfect agent who could get me the perfect publishing deal.
Of course, I realize, you can never find them if you don't try. Still a part of me didn't want to try.
Being Open to Possibilility Means that Possibilities Open Up
It always amazes me how a shift in mindset opens up new possibilities.
I know that there a many coaches and thought leaders out there talking about manifesting your desires, dreams, money. While I do believe that the energy of the universe works with us, I also struggle with this concept.
Why? Because if things don't happen quickly, or to the extent that these coaches often promise, then it becomes "you didn't believe enough," or "you used the wrong words," or anything that shifts the blame to you rather than to their methods and practices.
For this reason, when I help people access their creativity I don't promise that they will become rich and famous. I know that, by allowing themselves to be more open and playful with their lives and their dreams, the possibility of more things open up.
How do I know this? Because it's happening to me right now!!!
International Women's Day: Why All Women Should Be Celebrated
by Lisa A Kramer
On International Women's Day, we celebrate women.
"It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political." (United Nations)
I think it's wonderful to celebrate women on this day. I love seeing all the posts about women who have done amazing things. Women who have broken the glass ceiling. Women who are fighting for social and environmental justice every single day. The stories are inspirational and filled with hope.
But there is also something missing. We need to celebrate the women whose voices have been silenced.
Welcome to my newly redesigned website! Whether you are new here or have been following me for a while, please consider signing up for my mailing list (located on the side bar) as transitioning from one platform to another made me lose a few things. It's totally my fault because sometimes technology makes me want to pound my head into my desk or send my computer flying. But that's not important now.
Letting Go
Welcome to a new beginning, where I let go of 13 years of old blogs, to focus on what I am becoming, rather than what I was. Of course, I've saved some of them. I've kept my favorite or most popular posts. I've kept all of the posts by other authors in serious like #Celebrating our Unique Powers, and posts that focus on #Creativity, #Writing, #ArtsAndSocialJustice. I am letting go of the rants, many political posts, and some other random pieces. I am proud of all I have written, but I realize that looking forward, writing forward, and creating forward is what I choose to focus on.
Letting go is freeing somehow. As I sort through old posts, I discover things that have shifted, and questions that have changed. I recognized areas of passion that grew stronger over the years. I said farewell to those that no longer serve me. I feel ready, now to conquer new projects, build new connections, discover new collaborations, and write new books.
No F*cks Left to Give: A Midlife Manifesto Part II
by Lisa A Kramer
For many years now, one character keeps asking me to tell her story. I've begun many times, but something has always gotten in the way. Yet this character lives within me. She is the Storyteller. In my mind, she is a wise woman, a crone, a goddess, a witch. A woman who shares stories by the fireside to help her community understand the broken parts, the parts they have damaged, the parts they can change. As she weaves her tales, the sparks of the fire dance to form the images of people, places, things . . . her stories come to life.
She has appeared in my blog before as well. Starting with an image where I attempted to show...
When I was really young, I loved recording radio shows using a cassette recorder and a friend/sibling or two.. (Yes, I'm mature, deal with it). The topics varied. Sometimes I would do fake news interviews, or tell spooky stories complete with sound effects. Sometime songs made appearances, sung with the enthusiasm of any young girl who already loved the idea of Broadway musicals. (The first album I ever begged to own was the original cast recording of Annie).
I bet, if I search my mother's house, I will find some of those tapes lying around. They are probably mixed in with old stories I wrote, pictures I made with paints or crayons. Maybe event a few broken down crafts.
When I decided to leave academia in 2020 (only partially because of the pandemic) I didn't realize that I was entering an unknown world with (unwritten) rules designed to make life difficult. Some of these rules include:
If you are a woman over 50 (as I am) you are turning invisible.If you have higher degrees (I have both MFA and PhD) then employers will decide for you that you will be bored, and therefore not hire you.Capitalism will always undervalue thinkers, creative workers, and people who recognize that there is more to life than the daily grind and the bottom line.
In the midst of all this, of course, my country--actually the entire world--has completely lost the plot. Honestly, I don't...
Not just any books. I seek escape in the world of paranormal women's midlife fiction. Books where women my age often stumble into as yet unknown powers as they build new lives in magical towns where they are welcomed by an eclectic mix of diverse and quirky characters.
The woman always faces some challenge or danger, which allows her to discover her own inner strength.
Sometimes she falls in love (often with a shifter) but that's not the aspect that draws me to these books.
No, what draws me is the idea of this person discovering and building a family--a chosen family--made up of people who accept her for who she is. The...
_w140_h140/Quote%20from%20Power%20(1)_04120220.png "Books, Words, Information, Power")
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_w140_h140/Reclaiming%20Goddesses%20How%20to%20Bring%20the%20World%20into%20Balance%20(1)_03270330.png "An Invitation to Collaborate")
_w140_h140/International%20Women's%20Day(1)_03080232.png "International Women's Day: Why All Women Should Be Celebrated")
