Acts of Creative Rebellion

Fireworks at Crystal Palace - Photo Fluid4Sight

Necessary Rebellion

Nothing is more necessary or stronger in us than rebellion. - George Bataille

To grow we need to continually rebel - whether that's the new generation against the old or the internal dynamic of overcoming our inhibitions.   In this month where we light fires and launch fireworks in remembrance of a daring act of rebellion, we are seeing a great rebellion against oppressive patriarchal abuses of women.  Jo Brand just courageously addressed a panel of men on Have I Got News For You and the #MeToo campaign following the revelations around Harvey Weinstein has released an outpouring of voices calling out sexual abuse and harassment.  This is an absolutely essential rebellion - one that must continue daily as we call out and challenge centuries of patriarchal conditioning.  So here's a few thoughts in celebration of Creative Rebellion for this month...

Rebellion rewards risk taking

Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. - Banksy

Risk taking is at the core of rebellion which invites us beyond the comfort zone into vibrant, vital, authenticity - life lived in the quick of the present from the heart of our deepest longings, passions and convictions.   I am often asked to lead singing groups in large institutions where hierarchy, bureaucracy and politics are often at odds with our humanity.  Singing together immediately restores a sense of human connection as we breathe and raise our voices together.  It requires us to take the risk of being vulnerable through creative expression - we have to let our guard down to allow our voices to rise up.  As we open up to the power of our creativity, we experience a confidence-boosting salve in disturbing times and spaces.  Isolated individuals become knitted together in a supportive creative eco-system - and this act of rebellion against divisive, dehumanising social conditioning can lead to cultural change -  the enormous growth of choirs in healthcare, workplace and community settings is now being backed by government led research.  

Rebellion Raises The Game

Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.
- Alice Walker

One of the poems I love and return to repeatedly is Maya Angelou's poem And Still I Rise.  Every time I read it, my spirit rises.  It acknowledges centuries of suffering whilst commanding us to rise above feelings of 'victimhood,' imbuing a vital, empowered state of mind.   Creative acts of rebellion such as this incredible poem make us step up, stand up, turn up for ourselves and for others in powerful, meaningful ways.

Rebellion Roars with the Voice of Courage

Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one's clichés. - Tom Robbins

A recent Miss Peru Pageant challenged the cliches of the beauty industry when instead of stating their body measurements, models listed statistics about violence against women.  They immediately changed up the meaning of 'vital statistics',  clearly demonstrating that it's not about waist measurements, it's about respect and safety for women in Peru and everywhere.   It takes courage to refuse to conform and to insist on living from the healthy, vibrant creativity that gives rise to our unique contribution in life.  It takes that one deep breath to raise your voice for that which makes your heart sing.

Wishing you a radically rebellious November

At Croydon Composers - Photo with thanks to Fluid4Sight

A Recipe for Smashing It

We Smashed It!
I just had the most extraordinary September - getting over the finish line for the jointAnthem For Peace & Festival of Peace Crowdfunder, co-directing 500 people at Sing for Water and the debut performance of a collaborative project with Croydon Composers atCroydon Mela - WOW! I feel so honoured to have been part of these immensely enriching projects which have stretched and grown me exponentially!
Huge thanks to all our crowdfunder supporters and pledgers, the amazing fundraising singers at Sing for Water and the Croydon Composers Team - we totally smashed it -people power in action! 
So here's a fun recipe for smashing it this October.... just a few flavoursome ingredients to add to your pot... :)

 

1.  Daring Dreaming

Dare to Dream, for in the daring there is defiance to live beyond your circumstances
- Su Williams

Yes you can have that big one. That big juicy, delicious dream that you only occasionally admit to yourself.  The really mad one that will wake you up in a cold sweat when it starts coming true.  That's the dream that will catalyse your greatness into embodiment.  Following that dream will have you cooking up a storm, burning the midnight oil, chasing rainbows, having kittens, butterflies and collywobbles - the works!  And it will be absolutely worth it because it will totally smash through your limiting beliefs and enable you to feast on the flavours of self-fulfilment.


Dream Team - Croydon Composers at Croydon Mela - Photo Vipul Sangoi

2. Dream Team

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” - Edmund Lee

I am so full of gratitude for all the people in my life who call me out and grow me up.  We all need smashing dreamcatchers who remind us to catch hold of our greatest dreams.  This is not about having too many cooks in the brew, it's about precisely combining skills, talents and actions to make nourishing collaborative connections.  Sometimes these will take the form of angel-helpers who sweeten the way with a tender guiding hand, other times teachers will appear to chop through excuses and give us an almighty kick up the proverbial.  Welcome the friends who don't buy the 'I'm too small' stories and inspire you to play all out.

3. Practice Makes Presence

“Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect" - Brene Brown

My early education featured phrases like 'practice makes perfect' which exerts unnecessary and unattainable pressure.  If perfection is the goal, we may need to go and live on another planet.  More honestly, practice means accepting that every time you sing a song, perform a play or bake a cake - even when using the same recipe - it will be different.   Practice means giving yourself the time to repeatedly embody and experience something until smashing it becomes a gloriously human, imperfect, spontaneous and joyful reality.   In the face of mega-nerves, I've found that practice is grounding, reassuring and informative - it helps me measure what I flavours I need more or less of, what is working and what needs work.  It is where I develop presence via the precious process of allowing dreams to land safely with me before taking them out into the big wide world.  It is a place full of constructive, present-moment, supportive action. And most importantly it is a place I can be utterly imperfect, make mistakes, recover, try again and sing bum notes to my hearts content.   

4. Upgrade to Action

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. - William James

If you are smashing pumpkins this October a large baseball bat is a great utensil.  Often we are sold and told we need the upgraded baseball bat with flashing lights and an instant pumpkin corer gadget.  Sometimes we use this as a get-out clause to say - 'I'm not ready, I need this amazing upgrade before I can do this dream.'  The most important upgrade we can make is from states of fearful inaction to fruitful creativity.  Many of the worlds greatest artists turned up with whatever they had and got on with it.  The Beatles are just one example of mega artists who made it without ever learning how to read music.  Richard Branson, whose motto is 'Screw it, just do it' dropped out of school at 16 with dyslexia and started his first mini-business running a student magazine which evolved into a record label that signed the Sex Pistols.  One of the principles of this month'sCreative Sprint is 'Perfection is Overrated' - people around the world are creating spontaneously from their immediate inner and outer resources in response to a daily prompt.  So if you want to smash pumpkins, that old baseball bat at the back of the shed will do just fine.

Smashing events this October - You are warmly invited to come along to all the wonderful events this month - there's a feast of choirs to sing with plus delicious events including the Launch of Compassionate Neighbours with St Christopher's Hospice & London Mozart Players on 21st October and an innovative performance cooked up with Croydon Composers at Scream Lounge on 27th October. 

Wishing you a smashing October

At Sing for Water London - Photo with thanks to Fluid4Sight