TCCE 2011

The Creative Connection Event held many surprises for me this year. I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend by a dear friend and mentor, Beckah Krahula. Due to the overlapping in events with the New York Maker Faire, I was only able to experience the BlogHer sponsored portion on Thursday.

As a person who not only teaches those who'd like to earn a living creating as well as making my own living via the various things I personally make myself, this event embodies so many things "done right."

1) Not only are people (not just women) encouraged to take risks and be bold in striving for those things they desire in their lives, they are shown real world examples of ordinary everyday folks who did, and continue to do, extraordinary things to enjoy atypical success.

2) The focus on networking and lifting others to achieve their dreams is something I think we forget in the corporate world. With an ever connected social media existence, we forget that it's not about us inasmuch as about the community in which we are all trying to populate and thrive in.

3) People blog for many reasons... some for personal edification, others for monetary gain, some for validation that they aren't just some human sucking air and giving off carbon, whilst others are just trying to prove that they aren't so alone perhaps. I loved the fact that many people at this event had no agenda, that is, they had no idea what to expect but, we ready, willing and wanting to receive it.

4) We all had a place at a round table. There were no name tags or pre-determined seating arrangements yet, there was a custom spot for each of those who attended. We were lavishly gifted many trinkets and sundries, served dessert first and given silverware with linen napkins. I think it is important to feel as if one is intended... that they matter and have purpose. It was wonderful knowing that the strangers we sat with not only became acquaintances by the end of the meal and presentation but that, even though we may not have known what it was we were to offer to our companions upon sitting down, we did upon leaving. The willingness to share and ask specifically, 'how may I serve you?', is powerful folks, it is powerful to build another up to their full potential by using the talents you were given.

For me personally, the reason I was supposed to go was to see faith in action and taste the richness of dreams poured out. 

Walls

Along any country mile one is bound to see a wall or two dotting the landscape. Many of these walls mark a property line while others have another, less known, purpose for being built into existence, one we may never know. My Grandfather always said, never take down a wall until you can figure out why it was put there in the first place. Even as a child, I wondered why it was that the area trapped inside was always smaller than the everything beyond the enclosure.

The defintion of space, the territorial stance of "this is mine, not yours" happens the moment we exit the womb and take our breath sans the aquatic environment of our mothers. Independently, with our own lungs, we suck in the air claiming the oxygen it possesses as our own, belonging to us and no other. It is natural to set up boundaries and stake ownership. It is a matter of survival. The interesting thing one notices about country walls though, is their height. Somewhere along the history of things people realized that even though boundaries had to be set to maintain peace, they also had to be able to reach over the walls to trade, to barter, to share, to communicate and learn about eachother's existence. Civilization cannot advance and we as people cannot grow completely closed off from the everything beyond our enclosures   

Thirsty

It's amazing to think of how many plants grow next to fountains and are yet parched and dying of thirst. So committed in their rooted existence, those plants are unable to move, to bend, to reach out and drink in that which is so close. I noticed this beautiful Dahlia and was struck by the fact that it required someone to physically water it each day for it's survival despite being within feet of a sparkling fountain. It left me wondering about how many people are like this beautiful flower... dependent on others to meet their thirst, unable to fetch a cool drink for themselves. The creative often creates in solitude yet, they must seek inspiration for themselves, they must find water lest they wither away.