Seashells, plants, roses, snails, pine cones, pineapples, ocean waves — the list goes on.
What do they all have in common?
Their pattern is the spiral.
Nature loves to find ways to design in this particular direction.
Although man-made, even Dorothy & Toto started their arduous journey to Oz by following a yellow brick spiral ;-)
At least for me & perhaps you can relate — spirals speak to my inner explorer. That part of me that, by following my curiosity, wants to get to the heart of things. Looking for clues for where my creativity wants to go.
Whether I'm talking, walking, traveling, or swirling a glass of wine — my true north wants to dig as deep as it can to get to the essence of something. I never quite do, but I keep trying :)
[IÂ could stop here & discuss the mathematics of the spiral, and its Fibonacci sequence. But we'll leave that up to the scholars!]
Instead we'll talk about its magic & delight.
To me, the spiral represents what the creative life is all about.
Like a spiral, the creative journey never truly ends. But when we continue to skip along our creative path, we do get that much closer to the middle, to the essence of what we're seeking.
The good news is that just by knowing, by its very nature, that we'll never quite get to the center of our creative spiral — we can start relaxing and let go of the goal.
And instead focus on the beautiful color & uniqueness of our particular creative path...
Once we've let go of the goal (and sometimes that is soooo hard), that's where the magic starts to happen.
By letting go of our fears, and the outcome, we start to see into the mystical, enchanted world of the less known. This is where dreams are made, and the heart finds its home.
We can relax, enjoy the creative ride, and really begin to fall into the center of that awesome spiral of our creative nature.
If even for a moment.
Creativity is all about exploring.
Trying all those locked doors until your unique creative key fits the one you're meant to open.
But the funny thing is that much like the spiral, once you go thru that door & meander along your path for awhile — it's inevitable. You will find yourself standing outside another set of locked doors! (Oh goody.)
The spiral is a reminder to stay true to your creative path one step at a time. Just like Dorothy & Toto, if we're doing it right, and exploring the unknown — most of the time we're filled with fear & trepidation not knowing what we'll encounter, or what kind of evil witches we'll meet along the way.
But we still need to bravely unlock those creative doors and go thru.
Again & again.
Just like the spiral's pattern.
And little by little our very own decorated-just-for-us fun house starts revealing to us our one-of-a-kind creative nature. Bit by bit, we discover more about our creative heart — and even more importantly, ourselves.
The spiral is about being present, exploring, and enjoying the journey itself.
Here's one of my favorite expressions of nature's spiral, the rose...
"A Rose Is a Rose"
by Barb Toland
Now, like Dorothy & the YBR gang, don't let fear stop you — go unlock a few doors.
That's where the creative magic is.
Oh, and don't forget those ruby slippers đź’›đź‘