R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Thoughts

"...By adopting a creative outlook you open yourself up both to new possibilities and to change."
Roger von Oech, author of A Whack on the Side of the Head

As Roger von Oech says, "a whack on the side of the head" can come in many forms. Sometimes it's losing a job or breaking your leg so you have to see things from a new, less mobile perspective ... or for us a midlife divorce. A sudden life-change can force us into thinking in new ways about almost everything. See that as an opportunity and not a defeat. Creative thinking can be called into service to help us break out of old, inappropriate habits and spur us to try sometimes scary, "outside the box" thinking. Creativity can be enhanced simply by taking a new way to work, or brushing your teeth with your left hand (if you're a righty) or learning a new skill. We all need to be reminded that many if not most major breakthroughs have come as a result of failures or "disasters" in life. We all know about post it notes, the electric light and so on...all results of experiments gone awry. Our post-divorce time is a perfect time for us to open our creative eyes and be willing to trying new things ... to look at the potential in our situation instead of seeing it as a failure. Even though you might feel weak and defeated, today try to think of your divorce as a "Whack on the Side of the Head" to brand new discoveries about who you are and what fun, fulfilling creative experiences might be in your future. The new you can develop an "attitude." Don't be afraid of new things. Take a risk. Be creative. It's liberating and it's fun. And so what if you fail once or twice or ten times? You can change life from dull and drab to rich and full and stimulating! Creative people are fun to be with ... and we all can be as creative as we want. We were, ourselves, created for glory!

"Bring ... my daughters from the ends of the earth--everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Isaiah 43:6b-7 (NIV)