I dreamed…

I was standing in front of a huge bank of drawers labeled something like this illustration.  I was able to open and close the various drawers at will and things would stay magically in place.  Well, of course the absurdity of trying to do this wasn’t lost on me, but I had to create the visual about how “in relationship” all aspects of our lives are all the time.

Trying to get various parts of myself to NOT AVOID EACH OTHER other has required a fair amount of strategy.  It seems so obvious, however, when I thought about the reality of this…it wasn’t quite so simple.  Below is a more realistic illustration I think, at least for me.

THE REALITY OF COMPARTMENTALIZATION LISA LILLIBRIDGE

I’ve really tried to integrate who I am in my studio with the woman I bring home to my family. My family would love the woman at the studio. She’s this creative, resourceful, innovative, free-spirit sort of person. And she has chocolate and beef jerky stashed everywhere.

The reality was that my poor family would get a tired, cranky, unresourceful woman who made everyone feel like they were an interruption and a bother.  So, now I’m making a real effort to bring my artist self home with me.  I might manage this only some of the time—but hey, t’s a work in progress & really isn’t everything?

I would love to hear your stories of successes or struggles in this arena.

Lisa sig

“A More Beautiful Question” by Warren Berger

This morning I went to an “innovation breakfast” in Burlington, Vermont.  The speaker was Warren Berger talking about his book “A More Beautiful Question” inspired by e.e. cummings.   “Always the beautiful answer / who asks a more beautiful question.”

Here is the link to the author’s website: http://amorebeautifulquestion.com/

I am looking forward to diving into Warren’s book.  Everything he talked about had no parameters—this is applicable to all of our relationships-kids, partners, friends, family or business.  Thematically I am a sucker for far reaching messages.

The discussion was great and it confirmed something I’ve been telling my kids, mostly my 14 year old daughters a lot lately.  The smartest person in the room is always the person asking the most questions.  Genuine inquiry is where true connection resides.  I also remind them that a few of their favorite grown-up women in the entire universe ask questions all the time.  These women don’t let things hang in a conversation that they are uncertain about.  They ask.  They don’t worry about looking foolish, or being too personal—they are genuinely inquisitive and interested in people.  These remarkable women are storytellers and have taught me so much about drawing people out and allowing people to feel safe to open up or share information.

I think this is a very good question to ponder today:

why do we quit asking so many questions