Creative thinking, personal wellbeing and community.

We need and depend upon one another and our environment so that we can flourish and live meaningful lives, rather than simply existing in our individual pods, hanging on for dear life!

watercolour 

On my recent VIRTUAL trip to Crickhowell, Wales, I spoke about the importance of community many times, and how Crickhowell exemplified that for me.

In October 2005, during a personally challenging time, I had to move from beautiful Crickhowell to London.      Along with the failure of a project that had been very dear to my heart, my elderly Mother who lived in Kent was becoming ill.

watercolour     

In 2008 I found a bolt hole in Hampton SW London….and so brought my Mother from Kent to a nursing home a few minutes walk away.     Prior to this I had been commuting back and forth from London to Kent every week, overseeing nurses and my Mother’s house and garden and at the same time trying my best to keep up with work commitments.

I thought my bolt hole would be a temporary measure – maybe a year or two at the most, after which time I planned to move permanently to France.

Nearly 12 years later I am still here in Hampton,  proving that none of us is ever creative enough to know how things will actually work out…….

watercolour

Although a pandemic has been long predicted by scientists –  we  buried our collective heads.    None of us expected a global pandemic in 2020, let alone the ensuing consequences and fall out.

Just a few short months ago, we had no idea that we would need to let go of all pre-conceived ideas and that our lives on an individual and collective level would change in such dramatic ways?

None of us is ever creative enough to know how things will actually turn out………  

Because of the virus, we have been allowed to stop and think.

Like farmers who allow their land to lie fallow for a period without being sewn in order to restore its fertility…we humans have also been allowed to lie fallow for a short period of time.

Creative thinkers have seen this as an opportunity to make positive changes, which brings me back to Hampton….

After the first lock down I was introduced to The Inspired Hub http://www.theinspiredhub.co.uk           Fortunately for me – right on my doorstep.

During the first lockdown Susan Green (a creative thinker) and Hampton resident along with others had been busily revamping an old building and site.       It is now a place that is very pleasing to the eye, focusing on creative thinking, wellbeing and community……

In short they have turned what is a very challenging situation into a positive.  

Many people have turned to zoom for both social and educational purposes.     I prefer to communicate one on one…and so use Skype to talk with my children and some close friends.

I have been used to working and living alone for many years, but what about those who find themselves feeling cut off and isolated?      What about those who are living in crowded conditions with not enough money to pay the bills or put food on the table?

As 2020 morphs into 2021 perhaps we need to ask ourselves what have we learned from this experience individually and collectively?

All the images in this blog are watercolours…..where I have used small amounts of pigment with lots of water…..plus dry white paper. 

More tutorials to follow…..

Janet.:)