"I Don't Feel Tardy:" Kairos vs. Chronos -- Experiencing Time

Lessons Learned in High School:  Teachers do not think it's funny when you look down at your hands while looking confused and saying, "Funny. I don't feel tardy."

It seems appropriate that, in this season of honoring the dead, that I speak to you about the concept of time.

All my life, I've had this experience of time as fluid. I bet you have, too, you just maybe haven't thought of the words to explain it. What I'm talking about is how, when you're having fun, time just seems to fly by. And, when you're at work, time can just drag on and on and 30 minutes seems like for-freaking-ever!

Maybe this is one reason why I've never been cut out for the 8-5 work schedule that the entire rest of the world seems to operate on. I worked as a temp in the office sector for a while and on those days when things are just dragging so slow, I couldn't bring myself to do anything but answer the phone. Oh, all those hours I spent just trying to look like I was doing something so my bosses would leave me alone. How I'd love to have all those hours back, now, to use as I live, now. I mean sure, I made money, but I was also just wasting my and my employers' time. I was very ingenious at finding ways to do nothing, while still looking like the diligent employee I was expected to be. 

In short, no one was getting what they wanted.

 

Awhile ago, I read something in Jung  regarding different kinds of time. Namely, Kairos versus Chronos. Chronos is the concept we're most familiar with. Chronos is clock time. This is an example of living by clock time: I get up at 6:30 am so I can eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, drive and be at work by 8am. At 10 am, I get a 15 minute break in which I have time to pee, grab a soda and have a cigarette. At noon, I get an hour lunch where I have 30 minutes to eat and 30 minutes to dream about what I'm going to do when I get out of this hell-hole. And so on and so forth. 

Chronos tells us that we eat at noon because that's when we have to eat. We go to bed by 10 pm, so we can get enough sleep so we won't be falling on our faces at work the next day. With Chronos, all sorts of things can throw our day out of whack. A wreck on the highway makes us late to work which gets us yelled at. A bout of insomnia makes us useless after 2 pm the next day, but we've still got to stay at work, miserable, until 5pm because that is what is expected of us. 

John Lennon said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans," and this concept of "clock" time assumes that what we call "life" will never happen. Children won't get sick. Tires on cars won't go flat. Alarm clocks won't get themselves reset by a storm in the middle of the night.

In short, Chronos is a pain in the butt.

For some time now, I've been able to experience time in the sense of Kairos. Kairos "is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment," the supreme moment or "soul time." It is the place where "time" and "destiny" meet. It is where a person does the things of life when they "feel" right. I wake up, not at 6:30 am, but whenever my body feels rested enough. I eat lunch, not at noon because that's the only time I can, but whenever I feel hungry. And, if I don't feel hungry, I don't eat because I know that, when my body does get hungry, I can always stop what I'm doing and mosey on over somewhere for a bite. I don't go to bed at 10 pm. I can stay up and be productive as long as I don't feel tired. When I feel tired, I sleep. I don't need to stress about this project I'm doing that I can't give enough time to. I don't need to feel pressure to perform if I'm feeling sub-par.
  
My relationship with Kairos never ceases to amaze me. Even hours from home, I can be exactly where I am needed to give a little help at just the right time. Last week, I went to visit my father who lives about 2 hours drive from me. There's a little bar in my hometown that I hang out at that's very similar to the old television show "Cheers." I wasn't planning on going there while I was visiting, but I felt Kairos pulling me. I was able to go and, in an amazing bit of serendipity, I was able to not only give some mama-type support to a friend, but to and lend a shoulder, a friendly ear and a bit of counselling to some ladies as their close friend died.

I know that this world is not conducive, at all, to following Kairos and I so wish it was. I understand that not everyone has this option, right now, of living off "soul" time, but I'd like to see the world go more that way. Even in the job sphere, there's a, idea and concept of this, floating below the surface called "flextime." So the idea is out there, it's not as commonly embraced as I think it should be.

I wish we could just all go "wherever the wind takes us."

Source

Wouldn't that be nice to live our lives on our own time, by our personal time table? Because of the things that I have happened to me, I am now able to live like this. Sure, I still deal with clock time every now and again. Banks still are only open at certain times and I have friends that wouldn't appreciate a phone call to hang out at 2:00 am. But in general, Kairos and I are flowing right along, now.

Maybe I'm way off base, for you, and Chronos works for you. Maybe scheduling time for yourself to be creative before the kids wake up gives you the quiet you need to be your most productive. Personally, clock time and schedules never really worked out for me because it didn't allow for life to flow and unfold organically. If Chronos is your friend, I'm a bit jealous of you, I must say. Chronos people seem to operate better within this world than Kairos people.

Maybe one day, the world will understand Kairos people. It's already going that way with online banking and Netflix and other such "all hours" type companies.

So, what is your experience with time? Do you seem to have enough to do what you'd like to, or are you rushing around trying to get everything accomplished? Does Chronos work for you, or would you like to maybe reorganize your life to let Kairos in for a time? Is there time that you could let Kairos in without throwing your life into too much chaos? How about a Kairos weekend?


Ah, my lovelies. Let me hear back from you about time and your experience with it. Do you feel you have "enough"?

And please remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.



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Big Dreams in Detail

Hello, my lovelies. Today, I'd like to talk to you about dreams. We all have them and that's why most of you are visiting this site. You have big, creative dreams and you want to live them. That's why I'm here, to help you along on your journey.

In your sketchbook or journal, this week, I want you to write down your big dreams. I want you to list them, give a voice to them, play with them in your head and embrace them. If time, money, age, education and everything else in the world weren't a factor, what would you want to do?

 

When you write your list, do so in a way that makes you happy. Write it down in your favorite color pen or draw little pictures around your list. Add glitter or cut some pictures out of magazines and collage them around your words. Make this list something that you're going to want to look at again, from time to time, because that's what I want you to do.

Whenever you feel like you've lost your direction, whenever you feel depressed, whenever this world seems to be kicking you more than helping you, I want you to look at your list and daydream. For now, that's all I want you to do. I want you write down your dreams and let your mind run wild with your fantasies. 

I am a big fan of the singer Meat Loaf. I've seen him in concert and I even own tee shirts. I love this man and his music. The song "Good Girls Go to Heaven" was an anthem of mine in high school and a particular lyric strikes me at this time. 

 
"You don't have a lot, but it's all that you've got
And you can turn it into more than it seems
Just give it a shot, fantasize every movement
And imagine every inch of your dream

No one said it had to be real
But it's gotta be something you can reach out and feel"

Not only do I want you to write down what your dreams are, I want you to daydream about and record the details of your dreams. 

Do you want to write a book? If so, what would the title be? What do you want the cover art to look like? Is there a particular font that you want the type to be in? If so, what is it?

I want you to get down to specifics. Do you want to be on Oprah for your accomplishments? What will you wear when you appear on the show? Personally, I'd love to be on Ellen, Ricki Lake or be on stage with RuPaul.

But those dreams are a little far off, for now. But, some of my dreams, I've already accomplished. I wanted to be a published author and I didn't want it to happen through some vanity press. I didn't feel, at the time, like my self-esteem could handle the rejection letters I'd have to get until I got a 'yes,' so I published my chapbooks of poetry, myself. 4 of them, to be exact. The titles were Fugitive Words from the Almond Cloud, Little Fugitives, To All the Boys and Womanic Life. In a later post I will share with you exactly how I published, printed and promoted these little guys and how you can publish your own book, too. You will be amazed at how easy it is!

One of my other dreams are that I want to be a regular fixture in a local parade like Jill Conner Browne and The Sweet Potato Queens. (If you haven't heard of this woman, yet, check her out. She's immensely funny and does some great charity work "for the chirrin"!) I'd love for my friends and I to ride on a float, dancing to music while wearing sequins just 'cause we can. And I'd like to invite all of the world to come and be in the parade with me. This dream goes hand-in-hand with my secret desire to be a female drag queen. *wink* 

I know. It's not a "cure breast cancer" kind of a dream, but it's one that I have and might be able to accomplish.

No matter how silly, record all your dreams. Every single one of them. And, when you begin to imagine them, maybe ideas will come to you about how you can make tiny steps to accomplishing them. Write these steps down, as well. It's important to record these steps so you're not forgetting them and losing all this important headway. 

Another silly dream of mine is to scream "I will triumph!" under the Arc de Triomphe a la Meg Ryan in the movie French Kiss.

So, my dears, what are your dreams? What are the silly, the noble, the wonderful dreams that are bouncing around in your head? What churnings and yearnings stir in your heart or tickle your fancy? What would you like to learn how to do?

I've created this blog as a means to reach out to you and help you, to create a community of creatives that can inspire and uplift each other. So talk back to me, beauties! I'd love to hear from you.

Please remember, you delicious souls, that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.

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Gay Rights and the Artist as Revolutionary

This video has been buzzing around the internet, lately. This preacher in Springfield, Mo. went in front of the city council to speak out against gay marriage. At the "final minute," there is a surprise. Please watch the video all the way to the end.

 

When I finished the video, I wanted to hug him. Immediately, I sent out this email:



To the City Council of Springfield,

My name is Bri and I am writing to you, this evening, regarding the subject of gay rights. When I was 18 and in college, my best friends were gay men. Now that I am 31, all of my best friends are still gay men. Gay men peopled my baby shower. Gay men were the first non-family to hold my precious daughter when she was born. When my family has had financial trouble with bills and Christmas for our children, it has been my gay friends who have come through for us with monetary help, food and gifts. In turn, when they stumbled upon hard times, my family returned their generosity in kind. Gay people are my friends. They are my family because one of my cousins is gay. They are my support network, the shoulder that I cry on and the people that I trust.

This country that we live in, The United States, was not founded on religion or intolerance for that which is different from us. It was founded on the principles of freedom, meaning that we are all free to choose our life paths. We are free to our happiness, to help our neighbors and to tell our governing bodies what we think. Council, I say this to you. Gay people are not some "other," like black people were once considered, as well. They are not to be pushed aside, demonized or denied their rights. They are our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers and our families. But, more than that, they are citizens of the United States of America which used to be the country who led by example. We used to be "the land of the free." Can we still call ourselves that, anymore, if we don't give all of our citizens equal rights? If not, then where are we left? What do we stand for? Where do we go from here?

Council, I hope that you will keep these thoughts in your mind as you decide the issue and I hope that the wisdom I know you have will prevail. We can change the world. We can make it better for everyone. People all over this country are looking to you.

Thank you for your time,

Briana aka Visionary Bri

I don't often write letters to the political sphere. Though, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I did find that I could write letters to the office of the President and those pregnancy hormones did fire off a strongly worded letter or two. Want to write one too? Here's the web address.

I know that not all countries have even a portion of the freedoms that we have, here, in The United States. I also know that other countries give their citizens more freedoms than we have. At this point in time, I'm just trying to make my little corner of the world better for everyone around me. I'm not one of those that champions the country that I live in to be the best. It is only one of many. I'm very much in favor of world ideas, meaning ideas that bring us together, rather than divide us. I look forward to the day that everyone, no matter where they're from can truly be a citizen of this world and not just a citizen of a country.

In this world, it is the artists who give rise to movements. We question, we spur, we inspire. Artists dream revolutions and write about peace. If you are a creative person, this is your legacy. You can be a vehicle for change in the world through your art and in your life. That is one of the things I'm trying to do with this blog and, indeed, my entire creative arsenal.

What would you like to see change in this world? What are your revolutionary ideas? What causes do you champion?



Remember that we are all visionaries. We can all make a difference in this world. We just have to figure out where our passions lie and where we excel.


Happy Creating!

-Bri



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My Line Work

In my last blog post, Line Play, Zendoodle and Baby Steps, I talked about work with lines as well as discussing a form called Zentangle or Zendoodle. (Find a How-To on Zendoodle, here.) As you play with this concept in your sketchbook this week, I thought I would show you what I've been up to.

First, I thought I'd show you just a basic black line play that I did. I used my Zebra Emulsion EX pen in black that I have recently gotten as a free sample. I was just mucking about with this piece and it took me somewhere between 2 and 3 hours to do.

It's not much, but it's fun to do. You can see that I experimented with straight lines, curved lines, line thickness, line length and brevity and even "line" as negative space. Once you get started, it's really addicting.

Next, there is this one. This one is a line play like the last, but I used a blue Bic Mark-It Permanent Markers Ultra Fine Point. It bleeds a little, but I like Mark-Its and Sharpies for their vivid, vibrant colors. Once I know how a marker is going to bleed, I can work around it.

In this last drawing, I play with line and multiple colors. This is a doodle I've made since high school and it shows up in a lot of my pieces. In this piece, I used Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Permanent Markers, which I just love. I've left the insides of the shapes blank so you can see how just simple doodles with color can make interesting visual components.

Maybe later, I'll go back and add detail inside the doodles. But, even if I don't, I love how this doodle looks every single time I do it. There's no set pattern and each piece always unfolds second by second and I never know what the whole piece will look like until it's done. I like the spontaneity of the process, the surprise of the effect and the way I can make colors play off of each other. This is a doodle that I will probably draw for the rest of my life. Call it my signature piece.

What do you doodle? Was there something that you always drew on the back of your notebooks in school? Is there something you doodle in the margins while you're on the phone at work? If so, don't dismiss these little gems as "just a doodle." "Just a doodle" can turn into something pretty cool, if you just work with it a bit. Never ignore what you go back to, time and again. That means there is something worth exploring there. It means that there's something there that your mind and hand find interesting. And, if your mind finds it interesting, other people will too.

Keep on creating, my lovelies. Keep on art-ing.


And please remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.



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Line Play, Zendoodle and Baby Steps

When I was in college for visual art at a Buddhist university, one of my favorite professors gave me this assignment that he called Line Play. The assignment was to take a black pen and one sheet of paper and to explore making lines. He said he wanted us to work for at least one hour on one sheet of paper with just one black pen, playing with the idea of lines and how they can combine.

Such a simple idea, but the papers that were shown in class the next week? Each one was intricate, detailed, amazing and unique to each person. Great art is often born from simple ideas.

When my piece came into the classroom, there were dots in the picture. My professor asked me about them. Since this was a Buddhist university, the kinds of interactions that were allowed, there, were quite different than the state school I had attended earlier in life.

"Dots? Why dots?" my professor asked me. "Sir," I replied. "The assignment was to play with lines, correct?" "Yes," he answered, "Lines. Not dots." "Sir," I said, again, "what are dots but lines that haven't gone anywhere, yet?" My professor looked at me and smiled. These 'ah-ha' and surprising moments born of art education were the ones my professors and I lived for.

I loved that university. We had a class called "The Use of Gunpowder in Art" and we were always playing with ephemeral art which is art that is made, but that goes away or decays. Ephemera is art that is not permanent. It helps you distance yourself and not get your identity too wrapped up in your creations. Create, then release.

The head of the art department always said, "Surprise me! Sure, I give you assignments, but I want you to surprise me with what you bring in. I want you to take assignments and make them your own. Find your own style and do these assignments as only you can. Shake me up. Deviate. Play around with words and concepts."

This week, I got a new set of Bic Mark-It Permanent Markers . I was playing with them when my professors' Line Play exercise came back to me. "That's what Monday's inspiration for the blog is about," I thought. I did some research and I found this fun system called Zentangle. It is a teachable system uses lines and color blocks to create amazingly detailed pieces.

Look at these wonderful Zentangles that I've found around the internet. This first one works with lines, dots and symmetry for a very visually interesting piece.

This second has more black coloring in of spaces added to it. The above look is fine and complex while this look is more bold.

Finally, an example of how this type of intricate line work can be incorperated, maybe, into the art you might already be doing.

Isn't that just neat to look at? I know it looks hard and complex, but it's not. I used to doodle in my sketchbook like this all the time in high school and beyond, never knowing that there was a technique name for it until recently.

When you look at the whole piece of this kind of line work, it's really complex It makes the eye dance from section to section and your patterns become almost like visual texture. You can integrate this excersize into your life and that's what I'd like you to practice with, today. I know, it looks complex and hard to do. But all you have to do is start small. Start one little section. Only worry about that one little bit before moving on. Even the process of writing a blog seems a bit daunting at first, until you realize that you only need to write one post at a time. You don't need a year of content in your head at the beginning, no. All you need is one post to get you going. Just one. And that one will lead to one more and so on.

Baby steps. That's how I get things done. Baby steps and micro-movements and in pieces. It makes things not so overwhelming for me. My daughter is learning to walk, so the importance of baby steps is being played out right before my eyes. She didn't go from a little newborn who couldn't even lift her head to the toddler going across the living room unassisted for the first time, overnight. Who could expect her to? Why do with think that the entire project we've got in our heads, we need to have fully planned out before we even begin? Think like that and you'll never get started on anything.

So, this Zentangle and Zendoodle stuff can be a great life lesson. Baby step by baby step, we can make something amazing. If this Line Play idea sounds neat to you, here's a video tutorial that I found to get you started.

Other tutorials can be found around YouTube. Just search for "Zentangle" or "Zendoodle." There's also a whole series of books dedicated to this technique to continue to inspire you on your way.

Play with this in your sketchbook /  journal this week and see what you come up with. Maybe, if you decide you like it, you can start playing with line and color.



As you go about your week, I want you to remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel!



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I Hope You Dance

The title of the post, today, comes from this song by Lee Ann Womack:

What a beautiful song, don't you think? It's one of the songs I sing to my Precious Little Pookie of a daughter.

Over the weekend, I'd like to encourage you to dance. I want you to dance like no one is looking. I want you to start out by dancing in your home. Bust a move! I don't care if you do it in your bedroom, alone. Boogie down, my lovelies. This life is too short not to dance.

Now, a story of dancing. I come by my flair for the creative honestly, and you must understand that dancing out in public when there's really no music playing is an advanced level for visionaries. I got my sense of play from my father. Keep your sense of humor intact in life and you never know the joy that will come from it. Example:
  
My father and I were standing in a parking lot, chatting. Across the aisle of cars, a college kid and his girlfriend where loading sacks into the back of their car. The boy was singing at a pretty loud volume some song I'd never heard before. I dropped the conversation with my father and immediately started dancing. My father was confused for a minute, looking at me, puzzled. Then, he heard the singing and started dancing with me. To one college student's sheer joy of voice, we shook our booties for a little over a minute before the singing guy turned around and saw what we were doing. When he realized we were singing to the music he was making, he and his girlfriend broke out in laughter. At that moment, a white car drove through the parking lot between us. The driver of the car waved at singing guy and danced behind the wheel as she passed. Everyone laughed their heads off. My father said, "Life is short. You've got to have fun." I put my arm around my father and said, "Dad, welcome to my life" and he pulled me in for a hug.

 My father holding my 1-day-old daughter, the Precious Pookie.

He bought the lamb hat for her that morning and it was bigger than her whole head.

There's a song that I've been hearing everywhere, lately, by a group called Fun. In a shoe store, on the radio. This song is everywhere and I am absolutely in love with it. I'm so completely taken with this song that I really want to have coffee with Nate Ruess (which is an honor held for the likes of Meat Loaf, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Davis, Henry Rollins, Alex Grey and Ed Kowalczyk). The drum line of this song is wonderful and it makes me not only wanna bring my djembe out of storage, but it makes my butt wanna boogie. So, no matter where I am when I hear this great piece of music, I do a little dance.  I've also been listening to it on repeat in my headphones and in the car, by the way.

My only question, beautiful Mr. Ruess, is why did you let them AutoTune your voice? It's wonderful without that artificial sound.

So, my readers, this weekend and as you go about your life, when you hear this song, I'd like you to dance a bit if you feel like it. Yes, I'd like you to boogie in the shoe store. Yes, jive in the drivers' seat. Yes, do your little turn in the grocery store. Bop your head and groove on the bus.

And I want you to do this because every time I hear the song, I promise to boogie, as well. Dancey-dance with me, please? Wibble-wobble with me, no matter where you are in the world. Move your body a bit in a way that feels happy to you.

Life is too short to not dance. Let's dance together, shall we? Maybe we can get others to join in and spread the joy! Let's make some impromptu dance parties, shall we? Spreading joy in the world is always a worthwhile thing.


Until next time, my lovelies, remember that we are all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel!

The Childlike Empress

Because of this nurturing creativity venture I've undertaken, I get to hear things from people that no one else hears. I ask people, "What are you creative dreams? If money, schooling and talent were no object, in a completely ideal world, what would you do?" The answers I get to these questions are always striking.

I get to hear the secrets in your heart. I get to hear your hopes and your dreams that may have been squelched along your life path. I get to hear those small, fragile, glimmering bits of life that have, sometimes, been kept quiet for years. I get to hold them in my hands and feel their faint heartbeats against my palms.

I feel like the Childlike Empress from the movie The Neverending Story. I am passing to you the twinkling bit of hope that you need to make all your dreams come true. In turn, you entrust me with the safekeeping of the world that dreams are made of. I get to lean in close, admire your precious wishes and whisper to them, "Grow!"

And, I'd like to tell you something that may surprise you. I have never, not once, heard a dream from someone that I would say was dumb, silly, frivolous, or not worth pursuing. Can you believe that? Not one!

It takes lots of courage to dream in this world that seems like it tries to knock us down at every turn. It takes a lot of guts, sometimes, to even say our delicate desires out loud. I feel so privileged and honored to be trusted with the knowledge of these cherished little bits of your soul.

Doing anything new and creative is, in itself, revolutionary. It means that you've dared to challenge any number of things set in front of and expected of you. You're challenging your station in society, what other people want for you, what people might think of you, your current job, even your view of yourself.

As I go about my daily life, I get to hear colorful little sparks of hope. The other day, I was in a large department store looking at muffin tins and it just so happened that a stranger struck up a conversation with me. This happens to me a lot, so I don't mind. It started with him asking me where he could find a good pizza stone and it ended with me giving him my card. Do you want to know what his dream was? It was to open a "gourmet" soup kitchen, based on the principle that healthy eating enriches our lives. He would serve fresh veggies and fruits, no over-processed things. All based on the idea that good, nutritious fuel put in us enriches our lives in ways that chemicals can't. Isn't that an amazing idea?

Another gentleman who sold televisions for a living told me a couple of weeks ago about wanting to open a doughnut truck that sold various and novelty kinds of doughnuts. Doughnuts with interesting and striking ingredients. He'd cater to both the last call and before work crowd, working at night instead of during the day.

Don't both of these ideas sound awesome? Don't they sound enriching to the world and worth pursuing? I certainly think so. I know I'd patronize a nifty doughnut truck. Wouldn't you? Sure you would! It sounds like a nifty thing to try. And, as for serving whole, raw, unprocessed and nutritious foods to those down on their luck? I don't think I've ever heard an idea more worthwhile and noble.

And these are only two of the dreams that have been told to me over the past month!

My best girl friend's dream was to have a baby. Again, such a wonderful dream. I'm happy to say that she's due on Valentine's Day and that I have been invited to witness the birth of her daughter. I've never seen a woman giving birth, so I think I'm just as excited about February as she is. Not to mention the fact that our daughters will only be a year apart and they can grow up, together.

There are so many wonderful ideas that rest in your hearts, out there. I want to encourage you to chase after each and every one. I want your lives to overflow with possibility and joy. If only half of these ideas that we carry inside us can be made manifest in this world, just think about how much greater the world will be for having them!

I'd like to invite you to tell me your dreams. Leave a comment or email me at brifloorwilson@gmail.com, if you're more comfortable with that. I try to reply to everything and I can't wait to hear from you!


Remember that we are all visionaries, my lovelies. We just have to figure out where we excel!