Field Notes:
Gratitude linked to creativity – Scarcity vs. Abundance
Cup half empty / cup half full vs. what a beautiful cup I have with just the right amount of water
Gratitude is to greed as Abundance is to lack?
⤗ Gratitude: greed:: abundance: lack
⬼ ❀❀❀ ⤗
Today, I am going to don the clothes of gratitude. The kind that you can feel right down to your toes, that when you put it on, you’re immediately toasted, like a Norwegian wool sweater, but one that swallows you into snuggled warmth.
It seems a good move because autumn has fully arrived and the chilly wind likes to find any holes and blow. So. An extra layer of gratitude is just what the doctor ordered.
Akin to looking at the world through rose colored lenses, once you put on gratitude, the view changes. It opens up. The mind substitutes ‘I have so many problems’, with ‘I’m grateful for the challenges that push me’, encouraging growth not stagnancy. Gratitude changes ‘I don’t have this thing’ to ‘but I have these things’. It transforms ‘I don’t know the choreography yet’ to ‘I’m grateful that I have limbs to move and look at the steps that I have learned so far’.
Rather than constantly coming up short and believing that the grass is greener on the other side, gratitude helps gently guide the focus back to one’s own turf and admires the glossy, green growth of the grass that one already has. The focus shifts from outward to inward, cultivating introspection and blossoming into a profound appreciation for everything that one already possesses. Gratitude marks success. it is the sign post that marks how far you’ve already come rather than stressing the kilometers that remain.
Recently, someone mentioned that we tend to create through our lack, seeing what someone else has and wanting that thing, we bend over backwards, striving for it which often opens up space for creativity—the how to acquire that thing or reach that specific goal.
I wonder however if the same is not true with the premise reversed: we create from abundance. The belief that one already has everything that they need, promotes creativity. If I believe that I have enough food, rather than going to the grocery store again during the week, I will use the ingredients that I already have, putting them together in a creative way to produce a nourishing dish. By putting limits, I open up the creative scope. Similarly, if I operate under the belief that I have all the clothes I need and lack for absolutely nothing, I will arrange striking outfits with the clothes I already own. Somehow, limiting quantity is the precursor to potential quality.
So. Here’s my list for this week to remind myself of the abundance that surrounds me, to remind myself that I am enough, that I have everything I need and that I lack for nothing:
- I am grateful for warm beds.
- I’m grateful for new green leaves on my monsterra plant.
- I’m grateful for a sturdy roof and safe walls that protect me from the outside elements.
- I am grateful for Jaime, my roommate, it’s so nice talking to him in both English and Spanish, exchanging ideas, taking care of one another, being present together and etc.
- I am grateful for warm metros.
- I’m grateful for riveting books.
- I’m grateful for sheets.
- I’m grateful for cottage cheese and runny egg yolks that brighten up my plate in the morning and make a sauce for my toast.
- I’m grateful for the baby who smiled on the metro the other day and brought many smiles to others, helping create a lovely atmosphere to be in. There’s something incredibly magnetic about a smiley, calm baby.
- I’m grateful for the opportunity to dance flamenco and learn under a great teacher.
- I’m grateful for movement and body connection.
- I’m grateful for time right now to think and create.
- I’m grateful for the opportunity to both give and receive love.
- I’m grateful for my students.
- I’m grateful for the poignant, piercing sunlight streaming in from my window.
- I’m grateful for a bike to take me to and fro.
- I’m grateful for dear friends and dear family.
Oh what a cup! Drink and be filled, precious one.
