Have you ever thought about the outcomes you desire for your life or in the various roles you engage in each day?
Let’s take a trip into the kitchen. We have all these ingredients in front of us – flour, sugar, seasonings, cheese, vegetables, meats, fruits, leavenings, etc. What do we want to make for a meal, a dessert, or a snack? We have choices and the result depends on what we desire for the outcome to be and what ingredients and how much of each we put together.
In our life, our roles, our activities the results depends on what we desire for the outcome and what we bring to, or contribute to the process of creating the outcome.
It is helpful if we know what ingredients are available at our fingertips and those we can/need to obtain.
We look in the kitchen to see what we have on hand. We adjust either our recipe to what we have and still achieve the chosen dish or we make a list of what is needed to obtain.
As an individual taking stock of who we are, lets us understand where we are starting. What are our biological/genetic components? What are our values, beliefs, experience, preferences and abilities? What resources do we have available?
For each role and our life in general, we can choose the desired outcome. With awareness of our personal inventory we can determine what and how to use what we have. We can also develop and add to our personal inventory.
As we look at each role and life in general we need to envision the desired outcome knowing we are not limited by the resources on hand or who we see ourselves as at this moment. To create the desired outcome involves expanding our perspectives, adjusting our beliefs, learning new skills, discovering new possibilities and bringing it all together in a transformative reality. We are doing more than solving problems or obtaining something. We are creating the outcome we desire, including being the person we want to be and living the life we want.
Let’s take a specific example – the role of being a parent and the desired outcome of our children growing into responsible, respectful, engaging creators.
We know life has the full spectrum of peaks and valleys filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions.
How do we create such a lofty outcome?
What resources – ingredient – are readily available, with us and at our finger tips in our environment?
What do we see as the main ingredient to create the desired outcome?
Let’s work with the main ingredient of love. To provide children with the ingredient of love it needs to be readily available and included in the creative process.
What steps can we implement to infuse the environment, the interactions, the experiences of the children with love?
- Communicating love through our words and actions. Simply saying, “I love you”. Showing we care by providing their basic needs of food, water and shelter, within the given situation. Giving of our time to engage with them in daily activities.
- Modeling what respect and responsibility are by our interactions with them, with others, at home, work, and in the community.
- Acknowledging mistakes and failures. Then proceeding to try again. Learn from and seek new learning. Explore different solutions. Create different options.
- Protection – developing an environment and response that facilitate the child in feeling safe and /or able to access safety, support, and acceptance.
- Recognize and engage aesthetic joy – such things as: color, texture, sound, music, art, nature, quiet moments, patterns, rhythms, energy, curiosity, or simple pleasures.
To create the desired outcome of children growing into responsible, respectful, engaging creators is a process our identities evolving (yes constantly changing) and our active involvement in creating.
The creative process – assesses and acknowledges the current reality and focuses on the desired outcome. We then engage learning and unlearning about what we know, believe, and our skills. We develop ourselves and our lives to the desired outcome of life building, life mastery, moving from struggling to experiencing new joy and involvement in a true creative process.