Stepping Away to go MIA

Stepping Away...Be Back in a Few Days..

I have been working hard on tying up loose ends and responsibilities before I step away from being on the laptop, get off the computer grid and go missing in action during a brief getaway and a well deserved mini-vaca to Vegas.  This respite will be very nice and I am thankful that Kevin and I are able to take even this small amount of time away, have some fun, and play.

I found this post, Can You Take a Vacation from Social Media? quite appropriate for this posting- especially since I made the decision last week NOT to take my laptop and use the hotel’s free wifi.  I’m sure I’ll find a computer kiosk to maybe check my e-mail once or twice to keep my in-box manageable, see the status reports of my friends on Facebook, but that’s about it.  Even though my connections to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, e-groups, and regular old e-mail are something I enjoy, I think I can survive without the social networking scene and spend some time away. Although if we hit it big at the blackjack table, do look for this status report to come through on Facebook!

To help get in an “off the grid” state of mind, check out this Beastie Boys  song and video- Until then, away message on and stepping away…be back in a few days!  Have a good week…

My Book of Detachment

My mini altered book on Detachment is finally complete! Yay! After many months of slowly making time to work on it, I am happy that it is done. The completion of the book is very good timing. It is a nice visual reminder for me to flip through when I need to remember to let go, relax, and all the things I wrote about in my Detached Devotion post back in January.   I made a short film featuring the entire book…. take a moment to join me in detachment and enjoy….

 

Virtues of Passion

Detachment Altered Book Page 5 / Inside Me- Passion

More pages from my altered book on detachment— I am on a roll with working on it over the last few days.  I started thinking about passion, virtue, and letting go. Responsibilities, ideas, projects, and people that are important to me and I have great enthusiasm for contribute to the amount of energy, commitment, and focus I put into anything. 

Detachment Altered Book Page 6 / Virtue

I have been thinking a lot more about how to better direct my energy passion-where, with who, how, and why.  Same thing with where and who I should be detaching my energy from.  

Memo to Myself: Relax & Let Go

Detachment Altered Book Page 3 / Peace & Simple Joy

My altered book on detachment is still coming along. Here are a few more pages I  have been working on.  

Detachment Altered Book Page 4 / Stop

A reminder to myself to relax, let go, and keep things in perspective. 

Check out the beginning pages to this book in my post Detached Devotion. 

Detached Devotion

Detachment Altered Book- Be Free / January 2009

This week I started working on the pages in my mini altered book on detachment.  I only have a few pages of the book completed so far and have posted the book’s progress within this writing- enjoy!  Stayed tuned for more pages as the book develops! I hope to finish it soon.

So what does detachment mean anyway and why is it important to be mindful of practicing this virtue?  I believe detachment is a state of inner calmness and strength that peacefully co-exists with focused intentions. Especially during times of chaos or uncertainty, detachment allows us to cope with these obstacles, carry on,  stay passionate, and view what is out of our control as lessons of opportunity.  Detachment reminds us not to be tied to the results and to exercise freedom in letting go without being apathetic, regressing backwards, passing the buck, or giving up.

In the Handbook of Creativity by Robert  Sternberg, he describes another type of detachment called “detached devotion” and its impact on creative functioning.  Detached devotion results when there is a combination of intense passion, commitment, and interest alongside a deep practice of detachment. Detached devotion is fostered by a bigger purpose other than ourselves, our ego, and our own agenda. It’s about working on the task at hand and taking action on the work rather than trying to control or micromanage the work. Sternberg’s writing cites beliefs that creativity and motivation can ultimately be enhanced when individuals commit to tasks rooted in detached devotion and stay present in the work.

Of course, all this detachment talk is definitely easier said than done. I have found that detachment itself takes a lot of work. Here are some tips that have been helpful for me to remember and practice, practice, practice to stay on the path of detachment:

• Separate yourself from responsibilities and tasks that really belong to someone else to do;
• Let others make their own decisions, mistakes, and choices;
• Be mindful of trying to “fix things” through feeling obligated or the need to rescue;
• Be aware of hidden possibilities by letting go of how “things should be”;
• Invest yourself in projects that YOU are passionate about;
• Voice your truth without worrying about what others think or who is listening

Detachment Altered Book- Calm Me / January 2009

And most importantly, similar to how I engage in art making to focus on living with intention, doing my own art and engaging in the creative process also helps me increase my awareness about  the laws of detachment. And so my altered book continues…..