Creative Courant: Newsletter #15

Happy Friday. Only one more week in the month of July! Perhaps it’s being able to be outdoors in our back garden, but the days seem to be passing more quickly. Where I live, the spike in new COVID19 cases is setting new records, so we remain mostly at home and mask up when we do venture out into the world.

Yesterday I had to drop off some coffee pods to be recycled at a store located in an upscale mall.  I parked strategically so I could get in and out quickly and masked up.  I wasn’t prepared for what I saw - it was as if the mall was frozen in time in mid-March. Movie posters heralding the release of “Emma” were still hanging, many stores were dark and some had just disappeared.  My son, who is extra anxious these days came in search of me but had remembered to mask up, so we met each other at the door to the mall with him wearing a “Team Fauci” mask.

The unreal quality to all of this struck me to the core but I took a deep breath, assured my son that I was fine and we continued our day with activities like taking our puppy for her first walk in the neighborhood. 

While the word ‘unprecedented’ could become the word of the year for 2020, I often think of my grandparents who were raising young families during WWII and the daily, scary headlines they faced. They grew their victory gardens, did without luxuries for years, worried about their male relatives fighting on a faraway front and distracted themselves with the movies Hollywood was churning out to keep up morale. They persevered and thrived for the remainder of their lives. They and their contemporaries became known as the “Greatest Generation” and celebrated for their resilience. 

I cannot tell you how sending this newsletter each week has helped me focus on the right things-the creativity and the spirit of togetherness has been encouraging.  Other things that have been overlooked by our distracted busy lives have been blown wide open and we are forced to reckon with our privilege and systemic injustices. Uncomfortable and painful, yes, but these are the elements of expansion and growth.

I believe all of this is the makings of not “Greatest Generation” 2.0, but “another great generation.”  Let’s do the things we need to do for our wellbeing, for our communities and for the world.  The world needs creativity and it starts with one little creative expression by you.

What one creative endeavor will you commit to this week? Head over to the blog and leave your comments!

Have a lovely weekend,

Suzanne

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  • A neighborhood group in Toronto has built community during the pandemic, through shared resources like gardens and homemade items

Things to Do Around the World

  • For those New Wave music fans dig out your shoulder pads and have a dance party to these lesser known but equally good female artist

Suzanne Miller Farrell