Dale Nikkel's Blog

I was at the pottery studio again yesterday. I love the atmosphere. Being in a creative space really inspires me. My artist friend was showing me a chalice she made for a minister friend of hers. She made the chalice for communion services. It was odd. Beside the priestly chalice that was drying on a newspaper was a silly looking elephant.

She began to tell me that the elephant was actually the first chalice. While spinning the chalice on the wheel it suddenly flew off the wheel and landed on the floor. She looked down at it and broke into laughter — it looked like an elephant. She picked it up of the cement floor, and finished the transformation of the communion chalice into an elephant. Now the two of them — the sacred and the silly — sit beside each other  drying on the newspaper.

I love the imagery in that story. Somehow the sacred and the silly are placed on the same level. There are images around us every moment of every day. They can be serious and in just a moment be transformed into something hilarious. There’s some deep meaning in there somewhere.

Makes me want to take the silly side of the imaginative fork in the road more often. Why can’t we laugh?

I’ve never really paid much attention to Stephen Covey. He’s the time management/life coach guru who has the 7 habits of highly effective people. On a book shelf yesterday I found a book talking about his 8th habit. I was intrigued. I picked up the book and began to read about this 8th habit — finding your voice and helping others find theirs.

I was immediately engaged. I think he hammered home an important aspect of today’s world. Like never before we have choice. Like never before we have the chance to find our voice in work and life. He’s talking about our deep down vocational calling. I love this stuff. I must say. Midst all the busyness of life, the bills, the kids, the cars, the mortgage — we all have a vocation in our heart. But Covey says few people are fulfilled. Few people feel they are working to capacity. few people feel like they are truly using their talents.  I truly believe this is at the root of a lot of depression. (certainly not all) What if there was a job that truly lined up your soul with your role as Parker Palmer would say.

Some were born to teach, some were born to build, some were born to sing — the challenge is being able to discern deeply what it is we are wired for. This isn’t easy of course when bills need to be paid. But I think that we need to simply get used to living reflectively. And more than that, we need to begin to help others find their own voice.

Imagine being instrumental in helping others find out their true voice. I think there is nothing more rewarding as a teacher than to see a gift in someone and to reveal it to them.

I put the Covey book down… and walked away day-dreaming of a world where we’re all doing meaningful work, inspired by the possibilities.

“Art work is not the paint on the canvas or the print on the page; it is the moment of creation by the artist and the moment of understanding by the viewer.” – Walker Percy

Imagine all the time that goes into articulating an idea. But I agree with Percy above. It is the moment of inspiration that is dynamic — and that moment becomes the same moment for the viewer. It’s the moment where I deliberately get up off the couch to find a pencil in order to underline a profound statement in a book. It’s the moment our ears are drawn to music. It’s the curiosity of seeing a clever sculpture. This is the moment. If only we could plan them more often — I’d live in that place of being creative and receiving creativity.

But all we can do is live our lives. And as one of my favourite singer-songwriters David Wilcox says, the metaphors jump us when we’re not looking. I love being jumped by a metaphor as well. This is the moment of understanding Percy refers to above.

Can we be more open to being jumped? Are these sparks of creativity around us all the time?  Is it simply a matter of being more aware in life? Or do we just need to patiently wait for the precious few moments of artistic connection in a given week. I believe it’s a little bit of both.

I took my kids to do pottery at the studio yesterday. I thought I’d try my hand again. We had the chance to use the pottery wheel today. Our instructor did a wonderful job at demonstrating. My kids stepped up and did splendid works of art. By somehow I could not make much. My hands just don’t bend around that clay properly. It’s more a fascination for me that artists have something in their hearts. They need to get it out in their medium. That’s amazing to me. Just like I am sometimes ‘pregnant’ with a song or poem, potters too have a vision that must be formed in that clay. Part III is next week.

When’s the last time you heard a CD that really grabbed you? I was thinking about how seldom I buy CDs anymore. Is there less good music being made or has our society shifted interests towards MP3s and movies. I don’t know for sure. But I still believe that nothing moves people like a good song sung with passion.

On another note…Two days ago I was getting down on someone for eating 15 apples a day. All the while I’m observing myself creep up on the coffee consumption. I’m not drinking 15 coffees a day or anything, but I’m climbing to 3 or 4. My love for coffee is the bottom line. Sometimes at night I look forward to the morning just so I can have a cup of coffee. I don’t even think it matters whether it is decaf or regular. The taste.

Not much substance in today’s blog. Sorry folks. The sun is shining, the dog is happy and I’ve got a fresh cup of coffee.