Contingency
Well it’s Sunday and I’m a bit out of sorts. I was supposed to be in Toronto for an old friend’s wedding this weekend but my flight went through New York and the connecting flight was canceled, along with all other possible alternatives, due to snow (it sounds like they have had quite the storm over there! I hope things are returning to normal gradually).
Luckily I found out about this before getting on the plane so rather than being stuck at JFK along with 10,000 other frustrated stranded travelers I just turned around and headed home. Disappointed friends and an unexpected weekend off, and I’m a bit confused about what to do with it. Not for want of options – there is no great lack of things I should be doing – but shifting gears when the rug is pulled out from under you like that can be tricky.
This coincides with the publication, tomorrow, of my first ‘big’ guest post, on the wonderful Lateral Action blog. It’s a meditation on some of the ‘mythology’ we seem to have erected around creativity, and how it can hold us back, and what we might be able to do about it. I hope you check it out, and leave a comment! I’ll be monitoring and replying to comments there for the next few days.
I’m really happy to have my work featured there among such fine company, and I’m also happy to welcome anyone who might click through to find out a bit more about li’l ol’ me… so, if that’s you, welcome! Make yourself at home! Pull up a chair!
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
I confess that you’ve found me in a bit of a transitional period here, to use Jules from Pulp Fiction’s memorable phrase (though mine does not include firearms; I’m Canadian after all). I started this blog about six months ago, and to be honest I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I imagined it as a place to document a creative journey: the development, production and release of my online ‘novel in words, sounds and images’, Symmetricity.
However, it has quickly taken on a larger dimension: I find myself intrigued by the process of blogging, and more broadly by the global blogging community. I feel that I have something to contribute to (and, of course, learn from) a larger conversation about creativity. The Lateral Action blog and course have played a big role in this expansion of perspective, along with numerous others, and I look forward to engaging more fully with this community as things develop.
To which end I have decided to expand and relaunch this project, in a few weeks’ time. The new name (and address) will be what been using as my tagline here, which encapsulates in two words the essence of my message and the theme I’ll be building on: Fearless Creativity. There’s a splash page there for now, but if you sign up to the mailing list (or the the RSS feed) I’ll let you know when it launches.
As a bonus. you’ll also be the first to get my soon-to-be-released Cliffjump! Manifesto… I’ve distilled my creative method, mindset and philosophy – honed over more than 20 years as a professional pianist, composer, writer, photographer, and generally inquisitive searcher-after-pattern-and-meaning – into a practical and inspirational set of guidelines for creative thought and action… and a springboard from which to launch further explorations and conversations.
As always, follow the links to hear more music, read (or watch or listen to) the novel, connect via Twitter or Facebook, or find out more about me personally…
p.s. Anyone else out there find themselves in a Transitional Period? Want to spill the beans? Please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!
