Family – Page 10 – Joni Beach

November 29, 2011December 8, 2011

Thanksgiving, Family and the Circle of Life…

Like many families, my family has a reunion during Thanksgiving week. People travel from many states to attend. Over the years we have watched our own children (my parents grandchildren) grow up–and this week we had several Great–grandchildren, and counting! In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, we celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special events…Each year it becomes more apparent how important this time has become for all of us, from the older folks down to the younger members of the clan.

With a large extended family and members living all over the US, as well as other countries, it is a time of catching up and the renewal of relationships. We get to visit with the people who share our common ancestry and history. These are the people who can tell the family stories that will be passed through the generations, forming a familial bond. It allows a glimpse of the circle of life–for example, once it was my siblings and I who were the children playing with the cousins, now the children are our grandchildren! And, that seems quite remarkable…

As the Thanksgiving week ends everyone travels back home and…

Leaving with them are…

memories of shared activities…

good food…

and reminders of our many blessings–

That there truly is a circle of life.

A Little Thanksgiving Nostalgia (mysingingkitchen.wordpress.com)
Thanksgiving is special to me. My family (americanheartassociationcharlotte.wordpress.com)

November 9, 2011November 20, 2011

Connections~ People to People

Today I have been thinking about how humans share a common dependence. All of us are connected to other people in many ways—at many different levels. In our immediate worlds, we are connected to our family members. Outside of family in our communities, we are connected to the people we know in our schools, churches, at work, around town in the stores, the library, in the medical clinics. Beyond our communities, we have connection with the communities in the rest of the state, or region. Beyond each state, we have connection with all of the states and our country as a whole. Our nation then has connection with the other countries around our borders, as well as all of the countries around the globe.

These connections go from micro-level in a range all the way to a global macro-level. Current events continue to show this link between humans living on this planet we call Earth. For example, the economic woes of one country can impact those of another. Going beyond these human connections, we see our connection to the natural world and the environments we depend on to live. When earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and other natural disasters occur around the world, we are reminded of our connection with humanity and the shared dependence on our families, communities, regions/states, and countries in times of need.

Why is an awareness of this connection important? Because an awareness that what we do and who we are as individuals, families, communities, regions/states, and countries is linked to other people, may influence us to make those connections as positive and caring as possible, with a focus on promoting well-being and quality of life for everyone.

Social Networks: What Maslow Misses (mprcenter.org)
The Importance of Staying Connected with Friends and Family (psychologytoday.com)
Mitchell J. Rabin: Socially-Conscious Stress Management (huffingtonpost.com)

November 2, 2011December 3, 2011

Living Life Using Creativity

How do we use creativity in living our lives? Everyday…

1. In our thinking--Imagining…many times life presents us with situations that do not follow a typical path. For example, the economy downturns and the professional positions we have trained for evaporate…a spouse becomes ill just as the children graduate from college…the safety in the community where we live has been compromised. Creative problem-solving helps us to consider possible solutions.

2. In our hearing–We respond to the sounds around us. For example, in engaging in conversations we have with others…as we play an instrument and create music…in singing a melody. We both make and respond to sound in creative ways to express our emotions and ideas.

3. In our visualizing–What we see as shapes and colors impacts our daily lives. For example, we can visually study the characteristics of something to better understand it…artists sketch as a way to design and work out the details of their creation…we watch someone else do something and imitate them. Leonardo da Vinci was a master at using drawing as a way to think about how a machine might work or how a bird flies. Using our sight, we visually take in information about the world around us that can be used to design and create in our daily lives.

4. In our life experiences and family interactions–Whenever we change from what is to what could be. For example, reaching a new stage of life and making some changes…parents finding positive ways to teach their children good behaviors…adult children helping their older parents adjust to a disability. We can use information and design the future to be different from the past, bringing into being something that is new, or novel in its perspective.

One of my favorite books on using creativity and holistic thinking is How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb. Gelb presents the ways da Vinci used a holistic approach to create major works of art, as well as to understand the subjects of science. Da Vinci was ahead of his time in using art and science to inform one another.

So, in answer to the question, How do we use creativity?

People use creativity everyday to meet the challenges of daily living and to design and create new ideas, solutions, conversations, music, visual works of art, life stage transitions, and family traits & values.