Day 15 What would happen if…
Day 15
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
Answer any or all of these questions today.
What would happen if…
…everybody wore the same clothes.
…everybody over 20 could fly
…all the trees in the world had no leaves.
…no one ever cleaned their house.
…all the cars disappeared.
…there was no gravity.
Extra Points: Choose one and send me your thoughts….
IG, DM or to unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Comments
CECI:
What would happen if there was no gravity?
Without gravity, everything that stands on this Earth would go floating into space, humans, animals, stones, water, etc. Furthermore, the Earth itself could not exist as a planet, nor have an atmosphere.
Grateful to have the pull of gravity
LAU: If everyone wore the same clothes it would be like taking the color out of the world.
if the over 20’s could fly it would be an injustice to the top 20’s.
if the trees had no leaves it would be a permanent winter.
if we never cleaned the houses it would be as if the Diogenes syndrome had taken over the world and a liberation for women.
If all the cars disappeared, the health of the planet and the living things that live on it would improve and the next evolutionary step would be teleportation or the appearance of wings.
if there were no gravity it would be like living in an amusement park.
REBECCA:
Day 14 Laugh Out Loud
Day 14
“If you get in the habit of your life being fun, if you move through life believing it’s supposed to be that way, you’ll notice when it’s not.” Humor Seriously -Jen Arker, Naomi Bagdonas
- Close your eyes
- Extend your mouth from side to side- as a smile. Be sure to show your teeth.
- Count in your head to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 in that position.
- In that position…Laugh out loud, like out loud, out loud. At least eight HA, HA, HA.
- Repeat.
- Repeat.
- Repeat.
Extra points: Send me note telling me how that made you feel. DM, IG or email unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Comments
JP: Feelings and sensations…
Good energy
Mix of feeling silly and feeling a high
I felt tense at the start and then a soothing , calm sensation.
My body wanted to keep going and I lost myself in my head and just felt heart.
Rocio: My experience with todays’ challenge: First I felt silly, I was alone and feared someone could see me and think I was insane but….it felt better every time I repeated the exercise and I ended up laughing spontaneously instead of forced… It felt great!
Thank you!
ISA:
MON: This happened to be my birthday and i did this with the family before taking a picture…i just started laughing for no reason and everyone started laughing too and we got a great, super natural pic 🙂
Day 13 – Random Interactions
Day 13
“Fear is not a problem; allowing yourself to be consumed by it is.” Patricia Ryan Madson
Today…. Talk to a stranger.
Connections with human beings make us more creative, believe it or not.
During the day find a person you know little about or even a stranger that you can interact with, someone on the bus, grocery, taxi driver, old lady crossing the street.
Have eye contact
Say Hello.
Introduce yourself
Ask them an open ended question.
Some suggestions of open ended questions:
What has been your favorite part of today?
What is something that makes you happy?
What makes you laugh out loud?
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Extra points: Share your experience.
Happy Sunday!
Comments
CECI: We are in Sardinia on holidays this week. A handful of salespeople walk the beach selling different things such as hats, sarongs, accessories, coconut water, etc.
Today, I met Dani, a man from Pakistan who sells bracelets along the beach.
I bought two bracelets for my twins and asked him about his life, after telling him a bit about myself first. Otherwise, it could feel like an interrogatory rather than a genuine conversation.
He told me that he migrated to Italy from Pakistan with his family. He has 2 daughters and his dream is to get his paperwork sorted to move to the UK where he could give his kids a better education. I wished him good luck and he gave me a bracelet as a present for “being nice”.
Carolina, being Latin-American you know I would have had this exchange anyways, because we easily talk about our family life with strangers, and don’t struggle much starting this kind of random interactions
Like this, I also learned about Gonzalo, a vet from Argentina who is working as a waiter this summer to make some money
before going to Barcelona to be part of a research project on cancer (on animals). His sister leaves there, had a baby, etc etc.
JP: I went to get a pedicure and the person next to me was very smily and I saw she was reading a book in English so although I’m in Madrid I started to talk to her in English. She lives in a residencia next door which is for NYU students, she is doing her PHD and working on her dissertation and they sent her to Madrid for a month. She is a teacher at the new school in NY and a philosophy grad. I asked her what she liked so far about Madrid and it was interesting she said a) everything is soooo cheap, I love that I can fly anywhere with a few hours, the light oh the daylight!
Talking to strangers is something I loved to do in NY and I did it much less here but I have been getting back in the habit, I love the scary first seconds and then the humanity and I was in it !
Thanks for this special treat!
Focusing on Strengths. Eva Katerina Herber
Day 11- Looking through Windows
“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”
Anne Spollen
Today, during the day, notice all the windows that you come across. In your home, on your way to work, anywhere, all types of windows.
- Observe, what is happening in the windows.
- How does it make you feel?
- What is the story behind each window.
- Choose one window and finish these sentences:
I think….
I wish….
I wonder…..
Extra points: Send me a photo of the window with your answers. DM, IG or email unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Comments
I think about the rush to move and to always do something
I wish I could stop thinking too much
I wonder if the overwhelming stream of thoughts is a curse or blessing
think about the holiday feelings and the sense of relaxation
I wish I could travel more freely
I wonder if I am missing out by being in London over summer…
Im a huge window watcher, every day I take time in the morning to open the windows in my house and also close them again at night. I meditate in front of two big windows in my office too and I am constantly seeing nature through the windows. Took this picture of the almost full moon out of my favorite window in the house, with the purple flowers, and felt very connected to it. As usual the camera doesn’t do the moon any justice 🙂
As someone who has lived all over , nowhere and everywhere can be home, as my mom
Says, home is where the heart is and I leave behind part of my heart today.
I think I’m going home
I wish I could stay here where it feels like home
I wonder if I will ever know where home is
MAR:
I think that plants sleep in winter, they sleep long and restful dreams so that when spring comes they have the audacity to spread out and grow.
I wish you have beautiful dreams of arms raised, of infinite seeds and of a splendid green.
I wonder if we can ever tell each other our dreams and our longings. I love plants and they love me
My window says I look amazing yet I think I am not ready to show. And very different from the rest.
It appears there is so much going inside, it may feel safer and Free staying closed.
I wish this window could understand the impact to the rest of us if it opens and shares what’s inside.
I wonder if it simply can’t or just don’t want to. Maybe it isn’t ready?
MAR:
I think that plants sleep in winter, they sleep long and restful dreams so that when spring comes they have the audacity to spread out and grow.
I wish you have beautiful dreams of arms raised, of infinite seeds and of a splendid green.
I wonder if we can ever tell each other our dreams and our longings. I love plants and they love me
Day 9 One at a Time
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
Marie Curie
- Choose an ordinary activity like brushing your teeth, getting dressed, making breakfast.
- Pay attention only to what you are doing while doing this activity.
- Avoid multitasking. Look at the steps you take, what comes first, second and third.
- Reflect on the task and the objects involved in the task, Ask yourself why?
- Reflect on the order you do things.
- Reflect on how it feels.
- If you wander off, bring it back to what you are doing.
Extra Points: Send me quick note of what you noticed by IG, DM or email unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
This develops Lateral Thinking…
Lateral Thinking: is a straightforward, logical thinking process that must follow steps in order. It requires that you follow a mode of thinking, one way or another, to end up in a new place. When solving Math problems, you tend to use lateral thinking.
Comments
MON:
this all happened yesterday and today!
How to Close a Pool Cover
1. It’s summer in Madrid. The kids are complaining because the pool water is too hot. This is ironic, since you just spent 20,000 euros and six months remodeling what was previously referred to as an unusable icebox.
Thanks to the remodeling, the pool now has: a shallower section, smooth new tiles, a heater system connected to recently installed solar panels, and a 10,000 euro pool cover.
All of which has made the pool water too hot.
2. Your youngest child is learning to swim. He’s athletic for his age since he was a fetus. In a week of classes he can (mostly) hold his own.
Your four-year old is also adventurous and has been known to get himself into precarious situations.
3. It’s summer in Madrid and the thermometer reads a dry 38 degrees Celsius.
Part of which has made the pool water too hot.
4. It’s been determined by the family: the most effective way to cool the pool down is to leave the pool cover open overnight.
5. Earlier this morning, Jose, the gardener, delivered a story:
In a house in a nearby neighborhood, an older sibling opened the pool fence. When he walked out, the fence didn’t close. An unknown amount of time later his younger brother walked through the open gate, fell (or jumped?) into the water, and sank to the bottom of the pool, drowning.
The boy was one and a half years old.
There were no witnesses.
6. It’s been determined by the family: despite the horrific story, the most effective way to cool the pool down is to leave the pool cover open overnight.
7. Reluctantly, you agree, second-guessing this decision about a dozen time.
As you’re about to fall asleep, your husband reminds you again about the boy.
8. The next morning, you find your four-year-old boy happily playing Playmobil in the living room.
9. According to the gardener, the child’s mother is still in the hospital.
10. It is 9:51am and you’re late to your last dance class before summer. You remember how the pool cover is open and decide to close it. Yes, this means sacrificing some dance time, but who needs the warm-up anyway?
You run to the deep end of the pool and turn the key to the left, which is the wrong direction. Wonder why you always do this, then turn the key right. Hear the motor running. See the cover moving across the pool, guaranteeing everyone’s safety while you dance (presumably). Think about how ironic it is that you have to hold the key all the until the pool cover closes, but not when it opens. The sun is hitting your head. Think about the fact that you’re late to dance class.
11. In Zielo, the shopping mall where dance class is held, a lady in the elevator laughs while pressing all the buttons. “I never know which floor is mine, and I come here a lot!” she says. Another woman is there and she is laughing too. You are not laughing. The only thing you’re doing is thinking about the fact that you’re late.
12. Run into dance escool and notice the receptionist there, which seems strange.
Hear her ask: “where exactly are you going?”
Discover that adult dance classes ended on june 23rd (last week).
13. Think about going back home, and how this was all a waste of time. Change your mind and go to a café, where you sip a hot americano.
14. In the afternoon, play with your kids in the pool. Hear them complain about how the pool water is still too hot.
15. Picture the boy in the pool, the woman in the hospital. Consider how lucky you all are to be alive, in this very breath.
ISA: Making coffee
Loved this exercise!!!
Systematic way to make coffee that in fact brings pleasure with each step. Enjoyed reflecting on them.
Day 7 – Say Yes…AND
Day 7
“To say Yes is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.” Patricia Ryan Madson
Choose a person close to you: and for one day agree with all of their ideas. Find something right about everything they say. Look for every opportunity to offer support. Give them the spotlight. Notice the results.
See how often it may not be convenient or easy to do.
Obviously use common sense!!
Use these phrases to help through the day (they count as a YES):
You bet, you are right, I’m with you, Good idea. I support you. I’m here for you. I have your back.
Fenomenal, Estupendo, Estoy contigo, Te apoyo, etc.
Extra points: Share your reflections on how you felt, if the relationship changed for that day.
I know it is more than five minutes…but sometimes we only spend 5 minutes with our loved one….try it for as long as you feel comfortable. Have Fun!
Comments
MON: My intention was to do this with my husband and my response to the first thing he asked me was no!!! i decided to cut myself some slack and start over. it was a pretty intense day today so the yes intention lightened things up and brightened up the house. i told the kids they will each get a yes day on a random day this summer so that was a hit, especially with Carlitos who is always asking when he’s going to have a yes day 🙂 then we talked about watching the movie together
JP: I am on holiday with my brother and his family we don’t usually get along and so I tried the exercise throughout the day, it was tough to be agreeable, yes and …helped me keep calmer Also being agreeable I think threw him off, I realized by the end of the day it helped the communication. It was tough at first but by mid day it was more natural and helped us reach better communication for sure!
AG: I tried it with my partner. I always say NO to him. It really changed our day. It was hard. He noticed. He did not expect it. I felt different.
Day 5 – Word Associations
Day 5 Word Association
- Pick a book from your home or office,
- Open to a page and pick a word from that page.
- Repeat and pick a different word.
Write down both words.
Write down all the different ways that those two random words can be connected.
Find at least 10 ways.
Extra Points: Share your list!
Comments:
MON: I wasn’t sure how to do this exercise so I wrote a poem.
Words: Friendship and Chamber.
A friendship can be a chamber
in this chamber you are
always trapped
sharp edges
icy concrete
metal bars
a little window
close to the ceiling
the air
rarely
moves.
A friendship can be a chamber
in this chamber you are
always welcome
silky couches
fluffy pillows
pijama parties
swamps
laughter
the air
flows
freely.
M: fingers and continue
1) from the fingers the love continues
2) Continuing with the fingers, we reach the end of the hand
3) Fingers continue the body beyond the skin
4)Continue stroking with fingers
5) the fingers continue the work without the mind knowing.
6) fingers continue to dance to the sound of emotion
7) every time I continue contact, the fingers are the first to notice
8) even when I remain silent, my fingers speak
9) It is impossible not to continue dancing when the fingers are the ones that keep the rhythm.
10) fingers allow or not continuity. There’s something definite in how they express themselves
Caro: Algorithms and follow
- Robots
- Addiction
- Control
- Power
- Belonging
- Tribe
- Rebelion
- Freedom
- Social Media
- Zombies
ROCIO: Guests / Cruel
Friendship
Home
Relatives
Honesty
Conversation
Kids
Diet
Mask
Halloween
Birthday
JP: Never & Prickles
1. Ouch
2. Sensitive
3. Avoid
4. Sharp
5. Cranky
6. Creature
7. Tickle
8. Touch
9. Run
10. Nightmare
SF: 2 words – music – illusion
1. Sound
2.notes
3.dream
4.intention
5.. intuition
6.learning
7.cook
8.love
9.dance
10.acting
AG: Solution + Emotional
Therapy
Meditation
Creativity
Mindfulness
Laughter
Running
Exercise
Love
Family
Friendship
Lau: Mujeres y Mar– Women and sea
|1. Vida Life
2. oleaje- waves
3. mareas – tide
4.luna – moon
5. belleza – beauty
6.impredecible – impredictible
7. bravio – courage
8. calma – calm
9.fuerza – strength
10.profundidad – depth
MAR: Invitation and Notes
GISE:
My two random words:
Play
Family
1. Happiness
2. Memories
3. Tradition
4. Life
5. Holidays
6. Games
7. Laughter
8. Growing Up
9. Joy
10. Fulfillment