What's Your "Shake"?

Limitations may be the most unlikely of places to harness creativity, but perhaps one of the best ways to get ourselves out of ruts, rethink categories and challenge accepted norms. And instead of telling each other to seize the day, maybe we can remind ourselves every day to seize the limitation. - Phil Hansen

In artist Phil Hansen's wonderful TED Talk he speaks about and demonstrates how he learned to embrace at what first seemed like a limitation (an incurable shaking in his dominate hand) and later turned out to be extremely liberating.

I too have experienced something similar to Mr. Hansen and after watching his Talk I realized that the 'limitation' was a wonderful and life-changing experience; one that I am incredibly grateful for having and continues to provide growth and inspiration. 

"New York" Ink on Paper © 2014 Bruce Katlin

Have you too, experienced what once seemed to be limiting that turned out to be your best teacher or yielded incredible benefits? After watching the video can you see how you might embrace personal, team or organizational challenges? How can you use these challenges or limitations to grow, develop and prosper.

So, what's your "shake"?

Let's Get It On!

Recently, I started to paint and draw again after a three decade hiatus. I never stopped creating but my painting and drawing tools had been in a drawer for a long time while I pursued other mediums. Color and shaped kept nagging to be committed to paper, so I dusted off the acrylics and brushes and started to paint. Wow! What joy. What a true joy it is to get reacquainted with my old friends, brush and paint. 


My wife tells me that when I paint, I am appear to be completely immersed and utterly free. She's right, I do feel what I sometimes experience when I meditate: without mind. When I have or am in my mind it only serves my learned and often used resistance to creativity. (See Steven Pressfield's, The War of Art.) Some of the benefits of being free and of no mind extend to those around me, as I cease sharing my endless ideas, musings and wonderments by keeping my gob shut.


I do consider myself an Artist however, I want to learn technique, as I have an insatiable desire to learn how to do "that". So, I recently registered for the online class, Get Your Paint On taught by Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough. We're in the first week of the class and so far I have enough inspiration and excitement to carry me long into the future with painting tools in hand. As a teacher, I know how difficult the profession can be. There are a multitude of learning styles, personalities, and expectations to manage. I have attended art and music classes in the past and in my experience it is the rare instructor who truly loves to share his or her passion, knowledge and experience with his or her students. Many unfortunately, pass on their frustrations of not being full-time and handsomely compensated artists to their students. The price of their bruised egos is high and charged to their students. Yesterday, a middle-aged colleague of mine relayed her experience when, as a four year old her art teacher told her that the giraffe she had so proudly drew was "completely wrong". That was over fifty years ago and the hurt still shone in her eyes. So far, I have only witnessed care, compassion and professionalism from Mati and Lisa. 


Like many others, I have put restrictions on what I thought was possible and after being on the Journey for fifty-four years I have let myself out of my self-imposed prison. I am free and of no mind, (at least when I'm painting and with flora and fauna). The only restrictions put on creativity are self-imposed for the most part. I do agree with recent research that in traditional learning settings, i.e., classroom, that the teacher is the one who really learns something. The old saw says, "If you want to learn something teach it." I completely agree. Every time I teach a class or coach I learn and re-learn. I don't know how it works; I only know that it does, so, I know that I want to share what I learn with others so that I can retain and build on what I learned. 


Last week Terry and I were sitting on a park bench when a toddler wearing a long green wool coat and a blue hat that matched is piercing blue eyes looked up at the equally blue sky, raised his hands over is head and shouted with excitement and awe, "Wow! Wow! Wow!

Erika's Freedom

My first marathon is one week away. Seven days, fourteen hours to be exact and I am extremely excited! I've been training for five months and I can't believe that when I started I could hardly run twenty-six minutes let alone twenty-six miles!

Just before I hired running coach Patti Finke from Team Oregon my wife and I ran a 4k race in Central Park. We were huffing and puffing from the start but it was a beautiful day and the crowd was friendly so we continued to grin and bear it as best we could. Around a mile or so into the race a little girl around ten or eleven years old came skipping past us with energy bouncing and beaming from her every pore. Erika, we came to learn was running her first race with her Big Sister. Erika was as beautiful as only innocent children can be, having fun, enjoying the day and being truly present and in the moment. I couldn't help but make a connection with her and told her that I liked her running style as she seemed as loose and limber as an elastic band. Ah, to be that free in mind, body and soul! She slowed to our pace, flashed a 100 watt smile and said, "I'm having so much fun!" It showed. She was and her energy, innocence and joy filled my lumpy legs with hope and energy. My wife was smitten too and after Erika sped away towards the finish line like she was running on a fast moving cloud, my wife and I had a smile plastered on our faces grateful for our meeting Erika.

Leave it to a child to be so free such as Erika. Every weekend when I run my long runs in Central Park I hope that I'll see Erika again and when I become tired or uninspired to go any further I think of her and her presence and joy and it carries me another step, another mile. Erika, wherever you are, thank you. I hope that you never lose your sense of freedom, your joy, your smile and your sense of wonder. Don't become an adult who takes life too seriously, who makes excuses that you have too many 'adult responsibilities' to laugh, to skip, to bounce, to wonder, to run, to just be.