Stream of Consciousness

A creative mind wanders all day long. A creative person is often a daydreamer, has an imaginary friend as a child, sees images in the clouds and in their hot cocoa that no one else sees. A creative person begins as a creative child, who makes up songs and jokes, dresses up or pretends to be an animal. Have you ever felt uplifted by just coloring with crayons next to a child? Do you ever just enjoy watching them play or getting involved in their play-acting? I spent so much time with my girls just playing house or store, having "classy" tea parties, or doing jungle rides in the wagon in the backyard. Creative people are often avid readers, ask lots of questions, seem more fascinated with basic things that most people take for granted. They often seem "artsty fartsy" or "weird" to others who "have it all together", but to me, they are the coolest breed of people around. They are living in technicolor, while the rest remain in black and white!

Life in this world can be a lot of things, but it should never be boring. I am always skeptical when someone tells me they are bored. How can a person be bored? I don't get it. I'm guessing the mind of that person may be asleep for whatever reason. There is so much to be enjoyed and experienced, and you don't have to go anywhere to get it. I believe God created us to have wonderful positive thoughts, so what happens? When you start relying on the world to entertain you, you're going to have problems and yes, you will be bored.

I spent a lot of time alone as a kid, so I had countless opportunities to create in my mind. I was the kid with the imaginary friend. I wrote poems and stories, drew pictures out of scribbles and read countless books. I made everything up as I went along. It became a place of escape, where I could create every situation and every outcome, completely suited to me. It was survival then, and it is survival now. I don't mind being alone, I am never bored, and life rarely gets me down. I guess my mind never "parks" for very long, and that has been a saving grace for me.

I can see why many creative people in history went a little bonkers. Their minds must have been going about 200 miles per hour. Sometimes my mind races like that, but it's usually things I want to do or accomplish, or ideas that I am excited about. If my mind is going to race, I'd like it to be about things that are positive, things of God, and things that matter.

I could go on and on about the mind. It really is a terrible thing to waste. It's something we have to be careful with, as it is the enemy's target. Joyce Meyer wrote a great book about the mind, called "Battlefield of the Mind". It's a good read.

In one of my college writing classes, we did an exercise called "stream of consciousness". It was a way of writing down every thought that came to mind, usually to help you with a concept or even come up with a title for your piece. I have never forgotten it, and I use it sometimes to come up with creative ideas. I think it could be used to start your day off in a positive light as well. Get your thoughts going on a concept, like "goodness" for example. Let your mind go to all things good, starting with God, and what He is doing for you. Keep it going all day long! I promise you won't be bored and I promise you will feel more creative.

My stream today will be about thinking of one good thing about everyone I know. It should be an all day thing, but it will keep me focused on the positive and not all the negatives I have avoided talking about so far!!

Be blessed, from the tip of your toes to the top of your mind!! :)