Ok, I needed a break, some space, some Margin (last post), and my family and I watched a movie on Friday night that stayed with me through the weekend. No Reservations is a sweet romantic dramedy about a control freak chef who finds her world turned around by her niece and her new sous-chef. I can't say this is a movie that will make it into the classics, but I loved it. It was the perfect blend of drama, comedy and romance that I needed for a "margin" moment with my family.
So what does this have to do with my theme, Creativity Toolbox?
I want to focus on two things from the movie.
First, the title:
"No Reservations: Life isn't always made to order"
Isn't that true of our creative lives?
Our projects don't always fit the order we intended.
Sometimes we stray from our outlines, and our carefully ordered plans to find new life in a story that's gone stale.
And second, the slowly changing attitude of the head chef played by Catherine Zeta Jones:
She starts by saying she "Never" does a number of things like she "Never drinks wine at work," she "Never eats in the afternoons", and she "Never dates guys who sing opera." Her "Nevers" have locked her into a box. It's a safe box, but a lonely one.
What Nevers do you have in your life?
Are they healthy "nevers" or are they keeping you from your creative potential?
I'm not saying we shouldn't have standards to live by, just that we need to be thoughtful about those standards. "Never" is a pretty strong word when it starts keeping people out, and keeping our creativity in a box.
A to Z Challenge - Just keep writing those posts!
Creativity Toolbox Exercise: Write a list of 10 things you've Never done, but want to do, then pick one and write a story about it, or create a song, a poem, etc.
Or, take a look at the core of your current project and give yourself a moment of "unplanned" creativity.
