Hedria

CPSI 2011 in Atlanta

Problem Solving – what fun it is! I had a great time in Atlanta, solving problems, investigating callenges and working with a variety of adults, children and teens…what could be more interesting and exciting!

This year CPSI, the Creative Problem Solving Institute, provided a wonderful background for seeing family and friends, making connections and having fun. I had the new responsibility of mentoring and guiding some very interesting and motivated teens in facilitating real world problems - what I thought would be work turned into joy as I saw how interested and present they were.

I worked with my buddies Suzanne Chamberlain and Gloria Rapport, presenting a day long “Jump into CPS” (Creative Problem Solving) with an exciting group of educators from Holland. We had a terrific, hard, long, interesting, fun filled day.

I slept with two cute girls from the Youth Wise Program, my granddaughters Isabel 9 and Talia 7. I got to know some of their friends and see the exciting things they were doing, including making the most fantastic posters to raffle off at the auction, and delicious cheese cake. Through their dad David, I was able to meet and enjoy other parents and friends.

I presented my workshop, developed to show creative coping skills presented in my memoir, Square One at 51. That was a highlight for me! I have presented this workshop for many years, to diverse audiences from grieving widows to young adults striving to move forward. The sharing, openness, humor and warmth from these participants was captivating.

And, oh yes! I am back at my BLOG because I told my class I wanted to write again – and they all supported the effort with their emails and best wishes. Thanks guys – here is the first installment!

CPSI is a magical place, where the opportunity for growth and development is expanded beyond expected possibilities. Hope to see you next June back in Atlanta!

 

Springing into Creativity

Hello!
I hope your winter went well and you are as excited about spring and summer around the corner as I am. I have been away and wanted to share some thoughts with you that I had as I drove down to and back from Florida.

I took my first trip to Washington DC when I was 11 years old. My grandfather had died, and my mom packed me up with my school work to join her in driving to Florida to stay with grandma for the cold winter months… two things remain vivid in my mind from that time in 1950:

1.  I was shocked and dismayed when we arrived at the capitol of our wonderful country and I witnessed segregation -- at the drinking fountains in Washington, DC!  Colored fountain and White fountain!

2. I had the impression that the “snow birds” in Florida were very old people!

Move forward to 2009:

1.    We have an African American residing in the white house as President of this wonderful country

2.    I must now be very old, because I am a “snow bird”. How did that happen?

Change! Change! Change!

In life, love, politics and creativity we talk about change.

This month, the day after the election in the USA or America as the Europeans say, I had the opportunity to “go abroad” to the UK: Scotland, Wales, and England. What an interesting and exciting experience to view my country through the eyes of others. 

The UK papers were full of the election and the changes they were expecting from our government. They expressed great hope for the new president elect Barack Obama, and for the USA, as did our friends and the people we met in the hotels. A Welsh woman made a point of coming over to our breakfast table and saying “We are so excited …how America goes we go.”

Are You Fulfilling or Filling Your Life?

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, act frankly...to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely...This is to be my symphony. -William Henry Channing (1810-1884)

Life is not always easy. There are responsibilities, disappointments, jobs,tasks, special events, families, friends, activities and more all competing for our attention. It's how we accept and prioritize these that can make a difference in the way we live our lives, our achievements, and our state of mind. It determines whether we feel satisfied or lost.

Solve the Puzzle: Do More by Doing Less

Do you believe in coincidence? When the same thing happens three times in 24 hours, I tend to pay attention. One day, I had lunch with a gentlemen I hadn't seen in years. He commented that his mother had always believed that being alert to your surroundings depended on slowing down enough to see them.

Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone

I have taught creativity classes and explained non-judgmental behavior to thousands of people over the past decade. How we judge things--the daily events in our lives, the movies we attend, conversations with friends and relatives--effect everything we do.

A few years ago, I was presenting at a creativity center in Istanbul, Turkey. About 12 presenters gathered on the first night to discuss where to go for dinner. One of my colleagues suggested Chinese food. As soon as he said it, I replied, "You've got to be kidding. Who wants to go for Chinese in Istanbul?"

"I do," he laughed. "I thought you taught non-judgmental behavior!"

I hadn't realized how quickly I dismissed his idea. But, did I learn a lesson? Nope. Later that week, he mentioned buying something as a present for his wife that he could have easily purchased at home. Once again, I added my unwanted comments. "Why bring her back that when this fabulous city has so many exotic items?"

He looked at me, shook his head and said, "There she goes again."

That trip and those encounters, have replayed in my mind many times. While I teach people how to be non-judgmental, I have a comfort zone from which I judge. We all do.

Changing seasons in a changing world

Time flies by so quickly! The last time I sat down to write and organize my thoughts it was fall and here I am listening to birds chirping, and checking out the spring blooms.

Knowing the sun rises each morning and the seasons change adds stability to my life. It makes this world, that I am having difficulty focusing on, make sense. The world that comes jumping into my home daily through the newspapers, radio and TV has become overwhelming! I need a world map to locate the trouble spots on this earth...and I need a filter to listen to the comments of the commentators and their colleagues. Listening to the commentators after a debate, I wondered if we had heard the same program. Other people are constantly trying to put their thoughts into our heads, dismissing our right to assimilate facts and come to our own conclusions. When news became "24/7" , in my opinion, it was the demise of reporting all the news fit to print.

It would be wonderful if the world followed the maxim of the  creativity world I belong to. When evaluating a situation the first thing we do is examine what is good about the situation, what is right, what is working. We defer judgment until after we have purged this and then the judgments are reframed into questions about how we might work on the concerns of this problem.

People ask if they can deliberately learn to be creative - yes! It is done by learning to defer judgment, listening to the facts and then making decisions based on knowledge and foresight. Jumping into problem solutions, conclusions, and letting others think for us never works.

Wishing you a spring filled with beautiful sunrises, warm sunshine, and long summer days with spectacular sunsets. May you and your friends, family and colleagues reap the benefits of the wonderful changing seasons.    

 

Welcome to Hedria's blog!

In our journey through life we make goals and reach milestones. Fortunately in these past years I have reached many of my personal and professional goals. I am among the lucky ones who love their work; it is both my vocation and my avocation.

My passion for the seminar and speaking business has afforded me the opportunity to travel and work on five continents. The world of Creativity has inspired me and allowed me to change my life.

My reasons for starting this blog include my desire to share my experiences and ideas about Creativity and how to use it consciously to enrich our lives and to continue learning by connecting with others ... with you!?!

My Recent Presentation at CPSI 2007

In June I went to my very favorite and most important conference.

I have attended CPSI the Creative Problem Solving Institute for over 15 years and find it packed with great material, information, colleagues and friends.

This year I had the opportunity to present my seminar Square One at 51 based on my newly published book, Square One at 51. The seminar and the book are a reflection of the lessons I learned while writing a journal after my husband died:

The importance of Self awareness, Creativity, Articulating Goals and Networking that helped me move along and re-create myself.

It was very excitng to do the seminar with my book in hand. The audience was receptive and appreciative. At the end of the seminar members of the audience came up to ask questions, share their stories and purchase the book. I have presented this seminar before as Navigating Change and it was extremely gratifying to be able to align it now with the journal Sqauare One at 51 and present participants with something tangible to take home and read.