Simply Authentic...Your Soul Voice is Calling. The Habit from the Black Lagoon

The Habit from the Black Lagoon I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to keep doing the same thing the same way just because “that’s how I’ve always done it.” I get into an easy habit. That’s one of the reasons I love hanging out with super creative people. They figure out different things to do and different ways of doing things.  Artist Devin Van Domelin’s “Flying Books” https://laurahandke.com/simply-authentic-your-soul-voice-is-calling-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-two-foot-hollow-chicken-a-glimpse-into-the-wildly-creative-mind-of-devin-vandomelin are a great example. George I rented this house over two years ago. We chose one with minimum two bathrooms because we’d each lived with no other humans, just cats, for a long time (me, 8 years; George, 13.) Sharing a bathroom in our first home together may have been the beginning of the end of our relationship. We’re fine sharing a hotel bathroom…but every day? I selected the small bathroom, off the master bedroom, for “mine.” George and I are both clean and tidy (some might say OCD), so it was easy for us to get into a regular cleaning schedule that satisfied us both. I clean my bathroom once a week, every week. For two years, I have cleaned the bathroom floor by sweeping it, then – because sweeping doesn’t get everything around the edges – getting down on my hands and knees to wipe around the floorboards, then finishing it off with a quick sponge-down with cleaner. (Keep in mind my bathroom is very small, so the entire process takes just minutes.) Both our main vacuum and the secondary one we use for smaller chores were so big it didn’t make sense for me to drag them into my bathroom. So, the sweep, wipe, sponge method was my gig. When the secondary vacuum conked out, we bought a snappy, compact Shark Rocket. I’ve used that wonderful machine for a number of small cleaning chores in the six or eight months since we bought it. Yet it didn’t occur to me until last week it would work perfectly in my bathroom. And does it ever! That handy attachment saved me a full step and sucks up hair (mine and the cats) like nobody’s business. Save yourself a step or two! Think like an artist and get those left (logical, analytical, language) and right (creative, intuitive, motor skills) brain sides working together! Write with both your dominant and non-dominant hands, trading off, when checking in about where to go next with your dreams, or to find a creative solution to a common problem. Writing with your left hand, if you’re right-handed, kicks the other side of your brain into action, so the two hemispheres can work together. Dry off after showering or bathing in a different way in the morning. (I swear to you I did this three times in a week right before the idea of using the Rocket in my bathroom came to me.) If you usually towel your hair first, dry your legs first this time. Your back tomorrow. I’m writing this entry at Mad Stoat Maskworks Gallery and Thingshop instead of in my home office. It’s great to have a change of pace and be surrounded by beautiful and stimulating artwork while I work. Take a different route to a regular destination. Pay attention to what you see. New insights could be gained simply because you took Red Leaf Avenue to the grocery store instead of Main Street. One woman I interviewed for a Living the Dream story found her graphic designer while she was driving and a large pencil sculpture in front of the artist’s studio caught her eye. She knew the designer thought like she did, and a beautiful collaboration ensued. When has doing something a new way or doing something different benefitted you? Let us know on the blog! If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old. -Peter F. Drucker If you found this post helpful, please share it with your friends! Authentically Yours, Laura