View image and purchase of “Arbutus in the Fog” here.
My partner of many years (and the lovely man who has recently become my husband – December 10, 2009) and I have a banter that goes something like this…
I ask with raised eyebrows and a tone of dismay “how did you ever end up with a wild and crazy woman like me?”
With his eyes snapping, he responds “just lucky I guess.”
The truth is my wildness is not of the usual kind – having mostly to do with my vivid imagination and free spirit. And his “good luck” has mostly to do with acting on his preparedness when the opportunity presented itself. But we shall not be entertaining you with our love story today.
What I want to talk about is good luck and creativity. Some time ago, I read Deepak Chopra’s definition of “good luck” in The Seven Spiritual laws of Success (1994). Every since reading his description, it has embodied much of my perceptual understanding about what constitutes good luck. His exact passage reads:
You can look at every problem you have in your life as an opportunity for some greater benefit. You can stay alert to opportunities by being grounded in the wisdom of uncertainty. When your preparedness meets opportunity, the solution will spontaneously appear. What comes out of that is often called “good luck.” Good luck is nothing but preparedness and opportunity coming together.
So there you have it. Now what does this mean when it comes to our creativity? If we are writing, drawing, painting, taking photographs and enhancing our skills daily we are more likely to be prepared when the opportunity arises. When we have “good luck” by this definition we are overjoyed by the unexpected success that befalls us. This is certainly the case with these two images (one above and one below) that I share with you today. In each of these photos the exact coming together of the elements in the images are not likely to repeat themselves readily. In both cases I was prepared. I had my camera with me on my daily walk. I was watching, searching the beauty and the mundane around me. Then as if by magic the image was there – waiting for me, inviting me to capture it.
View and purchase “Holding the Moon” here.
Sprout Question: What part does “good luck” play in your creativity?
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Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.
Creative Potager 
yes, so much of luck is in the showing up with eyes open isn’t it? great pics!
Thanks Leah – yes eyes wide open led to finding a great snake-like piece of arbutus driftwood today. Now what shall I do with it – hmmmm?
it was my good luck to meet the people who have influenced me in my creative life the most.
ie I asked someone where to find a taxi she said she would give me a lift. in the course of that ten minute car ride i was invited to join a group of artists who got together on sundays do draw. there i met my mentor and that changed every thing. ( thanks Elin )
Thanks Jerry… I am guessing you were prepared to be an artist when opportunity stopped to pick you:)
Sprout Question: What part does “good luck” play in your creativity?
When I teach the Crystal Therapy 1-Day Intensive at HolEssence, I always define “luck” as “The intuitive means of success on all levels.”
As a creative non-fiction writer, I intentionally set myself up for success: I do my research, I carve out protected time to think, and I listen with my heart — the intersection of thinking (logic) and feeling (emotion). When these two powerful aspects of self are healthy and used in conjunction with each other, we function from a place of wisdom—the heart. This brings clarity in decision-making, removes drudgery and adds exponentially to joy.
I sit down with purpose and say:
“I invite the energy of Divine Love to plant a garden of original thoughts and creative ideas in my mind; and to cultivate the soil of my fertile imagination for a bountiful harvest of published work.”
Like you Terrill, I am prepared. I have my laptop ready to reap the thoughts that flow.
Laurie, I really like the word exponential. I know little mathematics but this function caught my imagination because we often do not realize until it is too late to change anything that the curve is about to happen. So when applying an exponential function to our creativity (and the resulting joy)… without preparedness, we might give up – because often, for a very long time, it appears as if nothing is happening. Your practice of preparedness, Laurie, before you sit down at the laptop, is like that long tail of “nothing-much-seems-to-be-changing” and then you sit down and there it goes… straight up and out onto the page. Yes!
Thank you for giving such a detailed answer to today’s sprout question:)
Feels to me like I’m preparing and waiting a lot. But when the opportunities come, they often flood in. Thank you for an awesomely inspiring post with pictures that illustrate your points beautifully!
Love and peace,
Alice
You are welcome Alice and I’m glad you found the post inspiring. I can say the same about your reikiawakening blog. warm regards, Terrill
So true and so timely, Terrill. Even on days when I don’t feel “inspired” to do art, I will still go out to the studio and just begin to clean off the table, or sort through materials, push some paint around, start a sketch, or maybe lay down collage elements. Anything to be ready for a fresh insight.
Hello Martha, you speak brilliantly about a practice of preparation that serves us so well. Thanks for coming by and sprouting an answer to the Good Luck Creativity Sprout Question.