In the school of imagination...

What do you do when problems bite hard, sinking teeth into you and draining you? How do you cope? 

I think about my grandmothers who, despite the troubles they encountered, in spite of how they felt, carried on with the tasks at hand.

I am pleased to say that, like my grandmothers, I tend to manage (though I do struggle immensely, emotionally). I plod my way through my chores, take care of my mother, the cooking, the cleaning. 

Unfortunately, certain things get parked in the corner until I can dust them, shine them again. Writing here was one of those activities that I've put away for a while.

Thank goodness though, I've been doing creative writing, and it has helped a LOT! Never, ever underestimate the power of creative work to lift you. Remember how we turned to creative activities during COVID? We discovered new recipes, we knitted, did embroidery, we sang, listened to music, we learnt to draw, write poetry. 

I hope, if you're seeing this, you've continued exploring your creative side. Here are three solid reasons why:

Playing a musical instrument keeps the mind sharp

Doing art, exploring, experimenting, no matter how small the object, helps us to develop our imagination, gives us new ways of seeing our lives (have a look at lisi-tana's latest exploration of the small things we take for granted but which complete the pictures in our daily lives: aaand...done).

(A most delightful little piece of art by Lisi-tana.)

Writing poetry is healing.

We don't have to be famous, wealthy, supremely talented, to explore the Arts. We don't have to try to do it for a living. We simply need to be curious.

Here are a couple of questions to trigger your imagination: what can you do with plastic bottles, straw, sticks, old pens? That empty box, what could you make with it? 

I've seen plastic bottles be used to make bricks, green houses, boats. I've seen doll houses made with cardboard boxes. 

Can you think of anything else?

Who knows what you can achieve by playing with your imagination, what fantastic creation you can come up with, what great business idea you can develop.

Check the Money List for suggestions to start an Imagination Business.

You’ll never know until you’ve tried. Go on. Try. The possibilities are endless.

Wash Away Your Worries.

In the previous post, I wrote about PAUSE and, in the Money section, I listed a few suggestions as to what you can do to start a business of your own...the Business of Pause.

Being an avid booklover, I'd like to suggest that a bookshop is a wonderful Pause Business. As a book lover, walking into a bookstore strolling along the aisles, flipping through books, the outside world disappears; I exist only in that place, in the strange worlds amongst those pages.

Ha.

If only we could convince more people to read more books. Bookshops would flourish; our minds would find that wonderful escape we so need at times. The benefits of reading are endless. I could go on, but I will save that for another day. 

Let's continue with the Business of Pause, the business of helping others relax, to soothe the troubled brow.

Now, don't laugh if you read this, but...SOAP!!

Yes, SOAP!! 

I've got this fab scented body-wash (which is just a fancy name for liquid soap) that my cousin gave me a year ago. 

I save it for special evenings, those evenings when I feel overwhelmed, fed up, sad. I shower with warm water and my fabulous body-wash, and believe you me, I feel my frowns fade, my smiles return. I go to bed chillaxed! 

So yeah, there is nothing like showering with the right soap for instant feel-good. 

Now, think about it! What if you could market soap in various ways. 

Soap with books. Soap with a podcast...

In the Money section, I will make a list.

If you think I'm talking air, and it's not possible for you, take a look at Starfish Oils in Jamaica. They started out small, selling aromatherapy oil at craft markets; labels were handwritten in the early days. Now, check out their collection of soap here!

So go on, have fun dreaming up what you’d like to do, and starting your own thing, yeah. Remember, the possibilities are endless.

Card by lisi-tana

Pause for a while to think about this…

I haven’t been here for a month. I’ve been taking a break to get other things done. 

And for two weeks, I visited my sister and her family. I laughed heartily, I chatted non-stop as though I’d just discovered talking. It was wonderful. 

Made me realise why we go on holidays. To refresh, refill, strengthen our selves. That’s why the holiday industry is massive, isn’t it?

I think of all the possibilities for running something manageable, something that helps us too - the business of pause, of taking a break, of tuning into ourselves and healing.

What if this business could help you too, and doesn’t cause you stress? What kind of business would it be? One example - there’s a woman in Australia who takes people into the woods. She teaches them how to forest bathe. Check out her site here: Joy Trails.

In the Caribbean too there are many places we can go to pause, refresh. If you’re on Facebook, join Trails & Travels Connecting d’Caribbean, it’s a collaboration, a collection of the many ways we can pause to unwind. Just looking at Trails & Travels makes me feel better! What a site for sore minds!

Think about this: we’re told that we’re being lazy if we’re not constantly running, doing…then, when we don’t pause, if we become ill, we’re told that we’re crazy because we know we should take breaks for the sake of body, mind, spirit.

Stop.

Shut down the critics and do your thing. (Or don’t do.)

Pause for a while.

And when you’re ready, have a look at The Business of Pause in the money tab.

Woman, what’s your story?

March is Women’s History Month.

What stories do we know about our women ancestors? What do we know about the women who fought to get us this far, to help us gain the freedom we enjoy today?

The more I think about this month, the more I’d like to leave learning-messages for people in the future, especially for the women to come in my family. I can do it through stories, pictures, songs…whatever I create.

You can too! Through your food, your garden, your sewing, your songs, photos, recipes, art…whatever it is you create, you can leave something for future generations to learn from, to heal, to feel at peace, to understand themselves. How? With notes, journals, time capsules.

Listen up, ladies! March is a fertile month…by digging into the history of women, you can create a whole new type of industry all of your own. Especially if you’re a history buff!!

Think of the shows, letters, videos, dinners, lunches, fairs, costumes, museums…all the ways you can use history to earn!

Check out the Money Tab, use those ideas, connect them with your history knowledge and…tah dah!!

The possibilities are endless.

Do wedding dresses have to be white?

They say black, white, beige are sophisticated and red, yellow, orange are garish…vulgar.

Do you agree?

Would you wear a red wedding dress? Pink? Green?  

I’ve read somewhere that wedding dresses were once not white, then, according to vogue.com, Queen Victoria basically started another trend: 

“royal brides wore wedding dresses in a variety of hues, with red being one of the most popular, while white dresses were reserved for women who were being presented at court.”

If I were a seamstress, I’d break the trend for wearing white and I’d sew the most exquisite wedding dresses in different colours!

The Colours Of Our Lives.

I’ve seen a trend where the entire house is beige. Even the books are beige because the book-owner has turned the books on the shelves around so that the edges of the pages face the room. I’ve also seen homes where practically everything is white.

This is not for me. I want colour, but I do understand why someone would seek to create a monochromatic look for their home. It could be their way of finding calm in a chaotic world, of seeking to soothe themselves, to stave off anxiety.

Colours excite me; they take me outdoors, into the wild, into solitary places, into cityscapes of living art.

Quilt-A-Bit Fabric Store in WPB, Florida.

We use colours to identify ourselves with political, religious and social groups; to define ourselves as individuals. Colours can be important in many ceremonies. Unfortunately, power-mad people can try control what colours we should wear. (Read more here: The Proper Colour of Love.)

Sad to say too, the use of certain colours can be the cause for snobbery - I’ve known people who look down on those who prefer bright tones, seeing them as belonging to an inferior culture. White, beige and black are deemed sophisticated. Red, green, orange are seen as garish, loud, vulgar.

Despite the silly slots into which we fit colours, or perhaps because of these categories, there are entire industries built on the use of colours. Paint. Fabric. Interior decor. Event decor. Comfort. Style. Travel. Food. Sleep. You name it, colour plays a huge role in every aspect of our lives.

Are you interested? If you love playing with colours, what business would you create right there in your living room?

Made By Hands.

I’ve been thinking, writing about hands recently and the wonderful things we can create with them.

This week, I want to share the work of two women we’d normally not pay attention to.

Lisi-Tana is from Guyana, a fairly unknown country, ignored by most of the world because we once were deemed very poor. She now lives in the US where a vast number of people from Guyana migrated to in search of a better life.

Lisi is trying to create a place, through some of her art, where we can relax, find calm. In a world filled with noise, competition, where everyone is jostling to be heard, Lisi’s work feels like an oasis.

You can find some of her work at lisi-tana.com. These are cards, a calendar, stickers, digitally drawn, printed on the best paper. This enhances her work, giving it a bit of a snob-appeal. If you want to impress someone, try her art!

If you have steady hands, doing art, creating anything, is basically a breeze. Know why I say this? Try creating art, playing music, cooking and doing practically any daily chore, with hands that shake out of control! Emma Stubbs, writer, artist in Scotland, has managed to do all the things we do, despite her having to deal with Parkinson’s. 

Look at this!! Look at all that she has achieved! 

https://handshake.substack.com/

https://www.whostolemydopamine.com/

There’s also this ebook, a no-nonsense guide to Parkinson’s, which was created by her.

Get it here: Who Shook My Hand - Your No-Nonsense Guide To Parkinson’s.