The best action to take after completing a project that has taken much of your time and attention is to use your passion to play, to adventure, to continue in motion and to make that movement with serious attention to.... not accomplishing anything beyond play.
That's right, to just play - especially for the seriously passionate person I am and those I tend to enjoy the most, we need to let ourselves play and explore with the same amount of exuberance as we create.
Last Sunday I did exactly that - I invested my morning in playful and soul-filled adventuring and my afternoon in delighted process exploration.
In other words, I visited heaven.
I spent the last few months building up to last Friday and Saturday nights’ performances of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, a production of VDay Bakersfield 2015 which is a part of the #OneBillionRising campaign to end violence against women and girls worldwide.
I knew I wanted to make Sunday into a special day of rejuvenation and alone time.
It just so happened my friend Maria’s daughter, Marisa, was an artist whose work was on display in Ventura, a beach city two hours from Bakersfield. It seemed like a complete no-brainer to me. There was an artist discussion planned for the afternoon and I knew I had to be there.
Thursday before the big day I discovered the Instagram weekend hashtag project was “from the water” and there I was, headed to the beach and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to take some water shots.
But then again, me being me, I knew I didn’t just want to go take photos of the Pacific Ocean in all her wonder. It didn’t seem challenging enough or interesting enough.
I pulled my car off the main freeway crossing from Santa Clarita to the coast and decided to visit some of the small towns along the way. There must be creeks or rivers or something beyond that huge ocean at the end of my trail that day.
Fillmore includes a darling, well preserved downtown I hadn't seen until this jaunty adventure.
First stop: Fillmore - a town I had only traverse to use a restroom or grab a soda in the past at one of the ubiquitous fast food establishment. I was shocked to find a delightful downtown - including an old school fountain - just waiting for my joyful snapping.
Every small town needs a fountain like this one. The water was cool and I was quite surprised there weren't any pennies in the fountain. If my kids were with me, there would have been four fresh ones tossed. That would. however, defeat the purpose of my solo adventure.
After enjoying my moments there, I decided to search for a creek or a river and found “Sespe Creek” so off I went.
I found orange grove after orange grove and even an old cemetery. I found an organic farm and a dry creek bed. I found leaking hoses. It was a wonder.
A little further some magical looking trees and mailboxes and a background to Santa Paula which made me smile wider than I had in any of the previous stress filled weeks.
By the time I arrived at the beach, I was completely refreshed. I sat on a bench on the pier and wrote. I communed with water birds. I stood directly underneath the pier and flirted with the water and felt my feet get buried deeper and deeper into the sand.
I even used a not-so-pleasant restroom to change into my fancier than beach clothes art show clothes.
Witnessing artists' processes delight me. Viewing "Expectations" and listening to the artists fed my passion.
You may be able to tell from this photo my friend Maria took how much I enjoyed the artist's talk and chatting with new friends afterwards.
I know some people just go to events. They just get into their car planning the time to drive from point A to point B and that’s what they do. I used to be that way also. But enjoying the surprises along the way, using a creative challenge such as the Weekend Hashtag project (and link ups like this one!) to inspired the adventure even more.
Julie Jordan Scott inspires people who want to write to experience artistic rebirth. She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in Spring, 2015 and beyond.
To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at 661.444.2735.
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