Teresa R. Funke's Blog: Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life, page 19

Passion and Permission

This week marks the seventh anniversary of this blog. Someone asked me how I had maintained the stamina for such an endeavor and how I came up with new ideas every week. I told her it all comes down to passion and permission.

In 2014, friends had been urging me to start a blog for years, but since so many writers had blogs I didn’t want to attempt one until I felt I had something unique to say. When I landed on the idea of Bursts of Brilliance®–which is really all about celebrating the inner artist in everyone–I knew I had something that would sustain my interest and provide enough passion to tackle a weekly blog.

Then I gave myself a whole lot of permission. I decided I would not critique my ideas; I’d just put my fingers to the keyboard and start typing. I wouldn’t try to write to themes or plan some sort of forced agenda. I would write about hot topics only if they genuinely interested me, not just because they were trending. I would employ my best writing skills, but I wouldn’t let my perfectionism interfere with publication. I’d write about personal things, if I felt like it, without fear of judgement. I’d do the best I could to challenge my readers, and myself, without causing harm.

When I started this blog, I couldn’t have anticipated a global pandemic or social and political unrest to the scale we saw in 2020. When the lockdowns started, I had a sense the blog–which had always been a view of life through the eyes of an artist—would become much more personal as everything about how I created and sold art began to change. Because my thoughts and feelings were so big and sometimes heavy during that year, I had no choice but to address them. So, I joined a chorus of people engaged in “pandemic writing” that will, hopefully, reveal our humanity to future generations. I’m sure the lessons I’ve learned in the past year will continue to surface in my work.

“How do you know when a book is done?” new writers often ask me. No one has yet asked me how I’ll know when my blog is done. I don’t even ask myself. I wake up every Friday morning and know it’s time to write. I close my eyes and wait for that burst of brilliance that tells me what this week’s post will be about. As long as those bursts continue to arrive, this blog will go on. That’s the nature of creativity. As long as something still brings us passion, it’s not hard to give ourselves permission. When the passion wanes, it’s time to move on to something else, and that’s okay. Because creativity never stops, it just changes direction.

I hope these posts and my book, Bursts of Brilliance, have sparked your inner artist, brought you joy, made you feel seen, and helped you remember we’re all in this together, we artists, creators, learners, and teachers. Make some good art today in whatever form you choose, and thank you so much for reading.

Teresa R. Funke

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When Beloved Art Forms Hold Us Back

The first thought that comes to mind when I see a woman’s stiletto shoe is “Oh, hell no.” This modern form of torture device might be sleek and beautiful, but it puts undue stress on the foot causing sometimes permanent damage to bones and nerves, not to mention blisters, swelling, and pain in the Achilles tendon. That’s to say nothing of the increased risk of twisted, sprained, or even broken ankles.

When I see these shoes, I see an industry that has worked for centuries to create fashion that holds women back. Wobbly high heels leave women unbalanced. They have traditionally made it harder to keep up with fast-walking male colleagues, required us to steady ourselves when going up stairs by grabbing a banister or a man’s arm, made it more challenging to carry, say, a heavy box of files. Even women who are pretty skilled at walking in these types of shoes admit to near mishaps.

When I see these shoes, I see centuries of pressure on women to put beauty and fashion before comfort, skill, health, and even fun. No one can really let loose and dance with total abandon wearing shoes like this. High heels were designed to draw the male gaze down past a tight calf to a delicate ankle and a dainty foot. As a short woman, I’ve been pestered to wear high heels to add some height to my frame.

When I see these shoes, though, I also see art. We revere many of our great designers in much the same way we revere great artists. Few things reflect our personal artistic expression more than fashion. Even my friends who hate high heels (myself included) own at least one pair, partly because something about them caught our eye. For me, there’s still great fun in getting dressed to the nines now and then, and that includes flashy shoes, although I quickly slip them off under the dinner table.

The Generation Z kids do not appear to be the slaves to fashion my generation was. I’ve seen them wear Keds with their prom dresses. I’m curious if the pandemic will lead to lasting change in fashion. I’ve heard many women boast that they have not worn a pair of high heels in nearly a year (since the lockdowns started). Will we be willing to embrace them again when things go “back to normal”? I hope not. I hope this is the stimulus we need to finally break free of these gorgeous shackles.

Like so many artists, it’s up to designers to shift and pivot and start to give women shoes that are still unique, still artsy, and still beautiful but won’t leave us crying in pain at the end of the day. We’ve excused a lot of bad art over the centuries because it was deemed “fashionable.” Most of the time, we eventually outgrew it. It’s time for us to outgrow our attachment to fashion that holds women back and causes us injury, no matter how gorgeous it may appear. We can display these pieces in fashion museums, we can keep a pair or two to show the grandkids, we can hold on to our memories, but it’s time for us to demand a new kind of art. One that lets us dance freely.

Do you agree?

Teresa R. Funke

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Decide to Be Inspired

A friend shared this quote with me: “Inspiration helps to limit your infinite choices.” It’s by designer Marc Jacobs, whom she said was commenting on the various directions a designer could take each season and how they should choose. She said his conclusion was any direction could be great, but it’s the one that inspires you that you should follow.

I recently did an abundance mindset exercise produced by coach Christine Kane in which she mentioned a scarcity behavior called “obsess.” Prior to her exercise, I thought the word obsess typically referred to one thing or maybe one person one obsesses over. But Kane defines it as obsessing over all our options because we’re afraid to choose.

It was a bit mind-blowing to realize I could be obsessing over options, but I have been. There are so many things I have a strong interest in, so many I feel are important to pursue, and so many I’ve done for so long it feels wrong to stop doing them. I’ve made a business and a career out of combining my many interests in unique and interesting ways. I’m actually proud of that. I enjoy the challenge of trying to see how things fit together. You might even say, I’m driven by trying to have it all. But is that maybe weighing me down?

Kane argues the only way out of obsession is to “decide.” She suggests the reason many of us don’t want to decide on a course of action is because we’re afraid to get clear on what we want. But what if what we want is several things? If that’s the case, it seems Jacobs’ answer makes more sense — there is no decision without inspiration.

The problem with inspiration is it’s a feeling, not a thought or a plan. You can’t manufacture it, you can’t force it, so there’s a temptation to think you must just wait for it. I’ve been waiting over a year now for inspiration and nothing has arrived yet. Someone like Jacobs, though, doesn’t have time for that. He has deadlines to meet. So, if he doesn’t have time to wait, where does his inspiration come from?

Maybe it comes from deciding to be inspired. Maybe that’s what I need to do. Stop obsessing over the pros and cons of each possible course of action and instead ask what inspires me about each of them. Maybe, going back to my gift, there’s a way to combine those inspirations, and I just need to sit down and do the work of uncovering the inspiration within each course of action.

The advice to “pick a lane” has never resonated with me. At first, I thought that might be what Kane was suggesting when she said “decide.” Who knows, maybe she was. I’m more the type, though, to go off-road. Still, I don’t do so in a flippant or dangerous manner. I’m just inspired to take the road not-yet traveled.

So today I’m deciding to be inspired. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Teresa R. Funke

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Trust What You Already Know

I’m taking a Spanish class right now. I’ve been meaning to do so for ages. I studied Spanish for five years in junior high and high school but—like most people who only studied in school—I never did get fluent in the language or comfortable with my skills.

Our teacher has been encouraging us to turn off the translator in our minds and just listen. Listen to the context of a sentence or conversation, listen for what we do know. If we don’t recognize a word, rather than saying it in English, in Spanish she tells us its opposite word or compares it to something else. The point behind her method is to help us arrive at the answer by accessing our current knowledge.

My teacher has let me sit in on the advance conversation group on Zoom a few times. Because everyone is talking fast, I don’t have time to try to translate. All I can do is listen with as much confidence as I can muster, and I’m surprised how much I can actually follow.

A friend and I were talking shop this week and this topic came up, because oftentimes when many of us need to make a decision regarding our art or business, we go straight to the analytical parts of our brains. We try to recall the “rules” of business or the playbooks we’ve read or the advice we’ve been given. We chart the data or create spreadsheets for the tasks. We strategize into the future a bit to decide if the idea has legs. We talk to peers and get their opinions. We bust our brains trying to figure out the right course of action rather than first trying to see how much context we can gather just from letting the idea flow.

Are you failing to trust what you already know?

by Teresa R. Funke

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Walking Beside Uncertainty

It was pointed out to me by a trusted source that “uncertainty” has settled into my body in unhealthy ways. I wasn’t surprised to hear it. After all, there’s been a lot of uncertainty these past few years for all of us, especially in 2020. In order to loosen the hold uncertainty has had on me, I went first to my mind, of course. That’s just my nature. I started listing all the things in my life and the lives of those I love that feel uncertain right now. It was quite a long list.

In doing that exercise, it came clear why I’ve been struggling. My next step was to let go of the inclination to bear the uncertainties of those around me. They must shoulder their own burdens, but I can walk alongside them and urge them along their respective paths.

We humans come into this world with uncertainty stored deep within us. For one, we know we’re going to die and so are those we love, but we’re not sure when or how. We live with that uncertainty every day. We also come into the world believing we deserve to be loved, but we’re uncertain who will truly provide that love and whether we are worthy. Many of us feel certain we were put here for a purpose, but we vacillate on what that purpose is. Most of us believe we are meant to be happy, but we’re uncertain how to achieve happiness.

Uncertainty, it seems, is our constant companion, but it’s tied to all the things that make our lives worth living: love, purpose, happiness, gratitude for the time we have on this earth. It’s not possible to wish uncertainty away, or to pray it away, or to work it away. It’s built into our bones. But uncertainty can be freeing as well. It can allow us to take important risks. If it’s uncertain whether we’ll survive a jump, it’s just as possible we will as we won’t. If the future is uncertain, it’s as likely we will succeed wildly as it is we will fail miserably.

While it’s possible to feel uncertain about the future and even about the past (that often comes in the form of regret), we can sometimes release uncertainty a bit if we stay in the now. In this moment, for example, I’m certain that I’m breathing, that my husband loves me because he just brought me tea, that writing this post feels purposeful, that I’m happy it’s a nice day as I prepare to wrap this up and take a walk.

Am I speaking from a place of privilege? Yes. I’m well aware there are those for whom this moment feels terrifyingly uncertain, and that uncertainty is weighing heavy on their bodies, minds, and spirits. But in that uncertainty, there is always hope. Leaning into the hope can help release the stress and worry. It won’t take the problems away, but it will give you the strength to work through them.

What is certain is that we all struggle because we all matter. We struggle because we know to our cores, we deserve love and purpose and happiness. And it is certain there will be moments when we experience all three.

I’m acknowledging my uncertainty, but I’m also letting it know it doesn’t have to work so hard to get my attention anymore. I get it. Life is uncertain, and whatever is coming will bring challenges, and hardships, and sorrow. But it will also certainly bring love, and purpose, and happiness.

Go ahead, uncertainty, keep me on my toes. Make my heart race now and then, because then I’ll know I’m alive. Walk beside me, if you must, but don’t expect me to carry you.

Teresa R. Funke

If you like this post, please credit Teresa and Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life blog

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Why Is “Allowing” So Dang Hard but So Dang Important?

I’ve never been one to declare New Year’s resolutions or make lists of quarterly objectives. As an artist, I like to keep things fluid so I can embrace opportunities as they arise. Plus, my definitions of “success” have little to do with quantitative results.

I’ve tried doing vision boards but could never understand why I needed a visual to spur me on when the pictures in my head are plenty vivid. I make lists only when I have to. So, you can imagine I felt a bit of trepidation when one of the women’s groups I belong to decided to have every member choose a “word of the year.” My friend sent me a worksheet to help me land on my word, and I grudgingly filled it out. Now, I’m glad I did.

I thought the word I wanted was “service,” a nice action-oriented word for my activator self. But the word that resonated was “allow.” I tried to hold to the word “service,” feeling more comfortable in a space where I could be the driver, but the word “allow” proved pretty assertive, which is funny. I mean, it practically insisted I choose it.

I started making a list of things I needed to allow in my life and came up with this:

–Allow my intuition to guide me

–Allow space for my emotions

–Allow the people in my life to be where they need to be

–Allow my creativity to express itself without interference from my inner critic

–Allow myself brief sojourns into my past and future, but stay mostly in the present

–Allow myself to trust that everything will work out

Since I made that list several days ago, I’ve thought of more things I need to add. It’s amazing how big that word really is and how many things it can encompass. “Allow” seemed to me a passive verb when it first occurred to me, but now I see it’s a very active verb. In order to allow my intuition to guide me, I need to make time for meditation and actually do it. In order to allow space for my emotions, I need to seek out safe places where I can let those emotions out. In order to allow the people in my life to be where they need to be, I need to instigate conversations free from judgement where I can learn what they need and how best to serve them.

But how do you approach something as layered as trusting everything will work out? In order to achieve that trust, you have to let go of past hurts and current problems and future fears. That’s a pretty tall order. And you can’t force trust, you have to accept it, which means letting your guard down, which is not something our culture teaches us to embrace.

Allowing, though, is not active in the same way, say, running is. Oftentimes it means getting still and quiet, taking deep breaths, and reconnecting to our Higher Selves. While I see the value in these things and try to do them, it’s often tempting to do the outer work to avoid doing the inner work. I can easily convince myself it’s better to “put the work in” by spending time updating the wording on my website regarding some service I offer in the hopes of making it feel more in sync with my energy, when really all I’m doing is avoiding going deep to ask if I still even want to offer that service.

I chose a “word for the year” a few years ago, and by the third week of January I’d already forgotten what it was. Not so this year. The word “allow” seems to be constantly on my mind. As our outer world struggles through a global pandemic, social and political unrest, failing economies, etc., the last thing I want to do is “allow” suffering to continue. I’m taking plenty of active steps to try to do my part to help our hurting world. But I’m understanding that in order to be my usual active self, I need to allow myself time and energy to learn more, connect more, and feel more.

What will you “allow” this year in order to arrive at your own creative solutions?

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Christmas Trees and What it Means to Be a Good Citizen

Every year we buy a live Christmas tree, although this past year, due to the pandemic, we did not. We’ve always patted ourselves on the back for taking our trees to be mulched after the holidays, but this year I read a blog post about holding on to your tree. The writer suggested propping it somewhere in the backyard to serve as a winter home for birds and small critters. They noted that the falling needles would be good for the soil and the branches could be used to protect perennials from snow and frost.

Part of me loved this idea. Another part struggled with messages I received as a child about well-kept yards and removing “waste” and creating a neat and tidy environment that even the neighbors would appreciate. When I was a kid, the responsible action was to drag your tree to the curb for the garbage collectors to haul away. Later, my husband and I accepted the inconvenience and cost of driving it across town to the recycling center. Now we’re being asked to put the needs of Mother Nature before our own longstanding beliefs about what makes us “good citizens” with a pristine lawn. Next, no doubt, our society will move away from the harvesting of live trees altogether.

Why am I writing about Christmas trees when our nation is living through a time of unsettling unrest? Because this week’s alarming occurrence at our nation’s Capitol Building on January 6 is the latest in a startling series of events that is causing us all to rethink what it means to be just and responsible, and to question how tied we should be to appearances or to once widely accepted social norms, and whether we need to throw out entire systems and old ways of thinking in order to serve the common good.

We are at a turning point in this country. We have a chance to surrender our attachments to the past and ask what America needs right now to heal and improve. Yes, we need to lay plans and work toward a better future, remembering that what defined a “better future” fifty years ago is very different from what defines it now, and will change again in fifty years. We will never “arrive” at that better future, but by focusing on a better now, we can move toward it.

When I first read that blog post, there was something so sad about the image of a dried-up Christmas tree “discarded” in my yard. I wasn’t sure I wanted to look at that for months on end. But then a tumbleweed blew on to my back deck. My husband went to throw it away. I told him no. Though it was dried up and fragile, it was somehow beautiful. Yesterday, I saw five swallows land on top of and hop below the tumbleweed. I watched them peck at or shelter beneath its branches, and my heart lifted.

It’s true many of the needed changes that are coming to this country will cause us to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable for a while, but it helps to remember we can change the way we see and do things. We do it all the time. We are far more creative and resilient than we often think.

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Let Your Values Guide You

A friend mentioned this year she’ll be setting “values-based goals.” This was something I could get behind. I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions or long lists of specific objectives. I typically have one or two big goals but, as an artist, I prefer to stay fluid, able to pick up or let go of my goals as opportunities arrive. I acknowledge, though, that most of my goals, and certainly my most successful efforts, have always been tied to my core values.

In 1991, I started a simple freelance writing business. In 2009, I decided to launch a company that could “grow in conjunction with community service.” I even put that exact wording into the mission statement for Teresa Funke & Company, LLC.

See, I’ve always felt that artists are in a unique position to move between various sectors and share our ideas, skills, and talents in ways that will bring inspiration and creative solutions to our communities. The sectors I wanted to work with were education, business, the arts, and nonprofits.

Over the past 11 years, I’ve developed my School Kit program, placing kits into 80 schools. This past year, I started a special initiative to provide classroom kits to Native American schools to help support learning during this challenging time of pandemic. With the support of my business and individual partners, I’ve also run my Author Visit for Schools Program, providing visits and 25 free books to 10 local schools each year.

One of my favorite community programs is our annual Great Book Giveaway. We partner with local organizations that serve at-risk, low-income, and Latino children to supply free books for their holiday giveaways. I have countless cherished memories of meeting kids who told me excitedly they had never owned their very own book before.

In addition to these ongoing programs, I’ve also instigated several collaborative efforts with local nonprofits, like the staged performance we did as a fundraiser for a local theater based on my book Dancing in Combat Boots, or the literacy programs I developed for the Boys & Girls Clubs.

There’s so much joy in running a values-based business, and our values cross over everything from the products we develop to the social media we share.

2020 was a difficult year for most businesses, including mine. But as my revenue streams slowed down, I found myself with more time to contemplate what type of leader I’d like to be and how I can best serve my community, as well as my customers and clients.

One of my writer friends said she thinks when the pandemic runs its course, and artists are able to get fully back to work, we’re going to enter into a new renaissance. I hope she’s right. I hope one of the hallmarks of this new renaissance will be a renewed appreciation among artists for all the ways we can serve and contribute to “rebirth” in the arts, culture, politics, and economics. And a renewed appreciation among our counterparts in the health, education, business, nonprofit, political, and faith communities for how artists can collaborate with them to advance objectives that benefit us all.

If your energy has not quite rebounded from the stresses of this past year, that’s okay. Take this time to rest, nurture your budding ideas, and build your strength. You’re going to need it. In this new world that is emerging, we have an opportunity to redefine reality. And we can do so by getting back to core values that serve everyone.

If you like this post, please share and credit Teresa R. Funke and Bursts of Brilliance blog.

 

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What Value Can You Add?

A friend mentioned this year she’ll be setting “values-based goals.” This was something I could get behind. I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions or long lists of specific objectives. I typically have one or two big goals but, as an artist, I prefer to stay fluid, able to pick up or let go of my goals as opportunities arrive. I acknowledge, though, that most of my goals, and certainly my most successful efforts, have always been tied to my core values.

In 1991, I started a simple freelance writing business. In 2009, I decided to launch a company that could “grow in conjunction with community service.” I even put that exact wording into the mission statement for Teresa Funke & Company, LLC.

See, I’ve always felt that artists are in a unique position to move between various sectors and share our ideas, skills, and talents in ways that will bring inspiration and creative solutions to our communities. The sectors I wanted to work with were education, business, the arts, and nonprofits.

Over the past 11 years, I’ve developed my School Kit program, placing kits into 80 schools. This past year, I started a special initiative to provide classroom kits to Native American schools to help support learning during this challenging time of pandemic. With the support of my business and individual partners, I’ve also run my Author Visit for Schools Program, providing visits and 25 free books to 10 local schools each year.

One of my favorite community programs is our annual Great Book Giveaway. We partner with local organizations that serve at-risk, low-income, and Latino children to supply free books for their holiday giveaways. I have countless cherished memories of meeting kids who told me excitedly they had never owned their very own book before.

In addition to these ongoing programs, I’ve also instigated several collaborative efforts with local nonprofits, like the staged performance we did as a fundraiser for a local theater based on my book Dancing in Combat Boots, or the literacy programs I developed for the Boys & Girls Clubs.

There’s so much joy in running a values-based business, and our values cross over everything from the products we develop to the social media we share.

2020 was a difficult year for most businesses, including mine. But as my revenue streams slowed down, I found myself with more time to contemplate what type of leader I’d like to be and how I can best serve my community, as well as my customers and clients.

One of my writer friends said she thinks when the pandemic runs its course, and artists are able to get fully back to work, we’re going to enter into a new renaissance. I hope she’s right. I hope one of the hallmarks of this new renaissance will be a renewed appreciation among artists for all the ways we can serve and contribute to “rebirth” in the arts, culture, politics, and economics. And a renewed appreciation among our counterparts in the health, education, business, nonprofit, political, and faith communities for how artists can collaborate with them to advance objectives that benefit us all.

If your energy has not quite rebounded from the stresses of this past year, that’s okay. Take this time to rest, nurture your budding ideas, and build your strength. You’re going to need it. In this new world that is emerging, we have an opportunity to redefine reality. And we can do so by getting back to core values that serve everyone.

If you like this post, please share and credit Teresa R. Funke and Bursts of Brilliance blog.

 

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Cheers to All the Inner Artists in You

If I were a visual artist, I’d be a fiber artist, using the tools and traditions of all the women who came before me and whose artistry was often overlooked.

If I were a singer, I’d be a folk singer or maybe a soft rock artist, the type who tells stories in their songs.

If I were an actor, I’d gravitate towards the stage. There’s nothing wrong with film or television, but nothing beats the energetic connection between an artist and a live audience.

If I were a poet, I’d write poems about history and the unsung individuals history so rarely celebrates.

As an amateur or an enthusiast, I’ve dabbled in all of these arts, and I cherish memories and mementos from those dabblings that bring me joy and a sense of accomplishment. I am all of those artists, and each of them have informed the art I love the most—writing—the only one I do professionally.

As we look back on one of the world’s most challenging years, let’s take note of how all of the artists inside each of us stepped up to help us get through this difficult time and how all of the professional artists leaned into their talents, skills, and passions to give us hope and inspiration.

A new year beckons, with new art to explore and new solutions to uncover, and our souls have grown stronger and wiser through this year’s tribulations. We’re coming out of a long, dark sleep. It’s time, as Carly Simon says, to “Let all the dreamers wake the nation.”

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