Reflections on "The Cab Ride"

I had an amazing thing happen last week. It all started with an innocent email from an old friend sharing a highly "web-circulated" story of miraculous magnitude. I may have seen this story before, seemed familiar, but this time "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget" hit me like a ton of bricks.

You see, I've spent the last few months living in a precarious way... I left Los Angeles for the back woods of Alaska to write... and during this time, I've had some very interesting moments, to say the least. Miraculous encounters while being present in the moment watching the simple yet curious happenings of life in a small village where things are... a bit different.

I took off on this journey to write, though I don't think I knew that at the time. I just desperately needed a break from the mayhem of Los Angeles and this seemed the perfect spot. Many years ago, I lived in these parts, so coming for a "visit" was not too difficult. Friends who are like family opened a door... and back in January, I felt that getting a break out of the city - into the cold dark barren north - would be good medicine to clear my mind and help me write.

So the other day when I read this story "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget" I was especially moved... It was such a clear and potent example of the way life can be, when we are present, as I've been experiencing on a constant basis in my slowed-down life where peculiar is most common in this character-driven town of a few hundred people near the base of North America's greatest mountains. The richness we can find in the blink of an eye when we really pay attention to what's going on around us can be profound.

"The Cab Ride," if you haven't seen it, is about an old woman's ride to the hospice where she will die, as told by the driver of her cab, a now-famous writer sharing a story from his own distant past. The story was so poignant and yet simple... and struck a particular cord for me. See my time this winter has been filled with helping elderly friends with daily life - chopping wood, shoveling snow, taking care of others while putting life's eventual end near in my thoughts during breaks from my writing... These times have highlighted the importance of taking in simple moments, being present with what's happening now and staying clear, to be a friend.

So when I read "The Cab Ride" story last week, I was incredibly moved, so much that I immediately wrote to the writer Kent Nerburn, an accomplished author and much sought after speaker - I just had to. Crazy part is, he wrote back to me - within 10 minutes! I was so moved by his story, then the writings I found on his blog, that when I got a personal message back from him, I was sort of stunned.

And what I must share now, is what struck me most from that experience last week.

When I read this man's writing... literally every word echoed with enormous grace for me. I was dramatically taken by the potency in his words... his depth and wisdom permeated me with every word - literally. It was palpable... I could feel his words... even as they seemed so very simple, there was something incredibly rich transferring unto me, coming through his writing, that really moved me. And that is when it hit me... as though this great writer was reaching through the ethers straight to me to say... DO IT! You have got to share your words! I have grappled with writing... I love to write and I know I must do so, yet I wonder how on earth this will work when all I "see" is me just telling stories... writing. I know somehow it will work and I'll make a great living with my words... but at the moment, as revenue mechanisms for writing are being honed, I sometimes worry, wonder and ponder... how on earth am I really going to do this?

So that day, as I felt the presence of this hugely grounded writer hanging out right here with me in my own personal space, I was hit clear as day with a powerful reflection... This man's words were cutting right through me as I realized he was showing me that is what happens through my words too... I have sensed my words move others deeply, yet we all have doubt... The moment became a powerful confirmation as I experienced what seemed a demonstration, that indeed, simple words DO have very deep impact.

I was able to feel the depth of this man's entire life experience through the simple reflections he shared... And that's when I knew. It is in sharing the way I see the world... that which comes from lifetimes worth of reflection... that my morsels of gold are carried forward. Experiences shared through the way we see and the depth we read into life is what's so important and valuable to share - to carry it all forward.

So I am deeply grateful for "The Cab Ride" landing in my inbox when it did - and even more, for the sequence of events that unfolded from there, for I was able to experience the great man and writer found in Kent Nerburn - and he has inspired, fueled me forward - to carry forth and share the stories that I hold.

I've spent so many years traveling this globe... experiencing life in the moment... pioneering creative life that in itself brought about deep wisdom for understanding the organic processes of change and creativity... And my knowing has come through miraculous experiences in countless foreign situations - in the moment - where I knew no more than what was right in front of me, as I learned to respond in a flash, to make the changes that would come. This is the mastery I developed along the way... and now, I am knowing, it's time to share the unfolding stories!

I am deeply grateful for that powerful day last week when I encountered this great writer and his simple yet deeply moving story of a ride in a cab one night many years back in his past.

I invite you to share the magic... "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget" is posted at zenmoments.org and shared with the author's gracious permission. If you're interested, Kent Nerburn humbly shares some of his own post-thoughts from the viral experience of his story traversing the web - found at his blog www.kentnerburn.com.

Deep thanks to Kent Nerburn ~ for his spirit, courage and perseverance as a great writer!


by Sharon L. Corsaro

Sharon Corsaro is a writer, creative coach, freelance consultant and facilitator. She has traveled the world sharing her communication and creative collaboration skills while learning how to live the magic of being present in the moment. This year, Sharon's been working on her first book and speaker's platform to share her creative tools for navigating the process of change in everyday life. She offers Creative Coaching by phone to help others gain clear vision for strategic forward motion in personal and business endeavors, and she writes about "the gold found in everyday life" on this blog www.TidBitsofGold.com and on Twitter @growinggold. To learn more about Sharon Corsaro, visit her home website at www.growing-gold.com.

Collaboration Takes Courage

As I reflect on a conversation from last night, I recognize the challenge of collaboration.

From outside perspective, I could see two people who could do very well to collaborate with one and other… And then I realized, they could also be in competition with each other. That’s when I thought... what if they chose to join forces, to become two working toward a similar goal, instead of just one – what if they chose to collaborate instead of compete. From outside perspective, I could see how rich this could be, I could see how abundant it becomes when two or more join forces. Yet when I reflect this same principle back onto myself, I realize and remember, the notion of competition.

It’s so ingrained in us to compete… I suppose it is our very nature for survival in the wild. Yet, I know too, there is another way – and as I reflect, I realize how much doing it differently, takes courage. Courage “to be” from a different place, courage to see from a higher perspective, courage to allow and embrace union and the possibilities of united forces, as opposed to being afraid.

As opposed to being afraid of the competition, what would happen if we joined with our competition to create a mighty force for tackling a new solution, creating something great... putting our might together to embrace the goodness that can come when we collaborate for common good? I suppose this is exactly what occurs when entrepreneurs join forces. There's a level of trust that must occur for two or more people with talent to join with others, for they could just "do it" themselves, hire out the help they need… but then again, there is something magically very different about working in collaboration… the meeting of mutually talented minds who have equal power, strength and ability to "do it"... yet actually realize and know - they can be so much better if they unite! Thinking with a glimmer of hope, "what if we join forces?!"

It is very different to collaborate. It's easy to see the great potential in joining up with other great minds - especially from outside perspective - yet there is an element of fear to be surpassed, in order to embrace the necessary change in attitude - from competition to collaboration. I've been working with collaborative thinking for ages... and yet still, with this thought and reflection today, I challenge myself to go ever further... to think about the greatness that can come in unified force... when I join with others who could be competitors, yet we choose to instead embody possibilities and join our energies for greater good while best of all, encouraging and carving a path for others to do the same.

Collaboration could be the changing tide we need, for greater good to prevail!

Collaboration is a key concept in the chronicles of Creative Change ~ the term I've coined to describe the notion of empowering the process of change, creatively. Coming soon to book, multi-media, live and web formats, please stay tuned for this wild ride! Join me to follow this blog at right (www.TidBitsofGold.com) and watch for great news to come!

Thanks for stopping by!

by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com

Brainstorming - What IF?

"What if" you suspended all judgment and parameters that hold you where you're at, when you reach the need for new solutions... What if you "pretended" there were simply no limits - what might your brainstorming produce then?

"What If" is exactly the place I propose you aim when seeking to make a change.

The other day I shared a story about creative brainstorming and promised to reveal some tips. So today I share the beginning ~ The "What If" Principle ~ as top on the list, where magic begins.

Brainstorming is all about getting creative and allowing childlike innocence to explore new solutions - for truly, it is our inner child - the younger aspect of you or your cohorts - that really knows how to play, explore and have fun... Where fun is alive, creativity thrives! And where creativity thrives... you can bet you'll find some great creative juice with a good solution or two!

So go for the fun of it... and let yourself think "what if?!"

"What if" creates possibilities... you can almost feel it tangibly in your body when you say "what if"...the kid inside starts peaking through as "what if" begs positive potential... it's fun, easy, playful and sorta spunky as it's saying to you but "what if..." with a big curious fun-loving "?" hanging at the end...

So have fun and brainstorm! Give yourself permission to let go, suspend your "box," judgments and all the "can'ts" you live with... and just play! Play with a little creative brainstorming to break out something new, and let the magic get going...

It is from childlike innocence that the best innovation can occur for that is where there is an abundance of creative flare with breakthroughs and great ideas for a new way of doing something that simply wasn't working anymore.

It is in the unexpected that greatness occurs. Empower that potential for yourself or your team by getting childlike - asking "what if" - to just see what comes.

"What if" literally opens new energy... it opens your creative thinking for a positive upward spiral where the "string of thinking" that comes is most important. You must open the door, suspend limitations, to allow the unravel of new thought to come forth. Saying "what if" helps do just that, by opening your mind... allowing judgments to suspend while putting aside limitations - to embody a moment of "potential" instead of "what currently is."

This suspended notion creates enormous openness... like stepping into an imaginary world where you can "create" the answer you need. As you day dream a potential, far more is occurring and suddenly you envision an option that seems wildly outside your norm, yet you realize the idea could actually morph into a true answer that could work right away. Your imaginary "day dream" may not be so "outside" true possibilities. Yet you would not have found the "day dream" idea had you not allowed yourself to explore and wander in your thought with open willingness to say "what if."

Creative brainstorming requires openness. Openness brings new ideas alive that may have been blocked by your belief they were impossible. As you open creative space for what you deem unlikely options, you might actually find that an outlandish-idea-moment causes you to see something not-so-outlandish that really could work - only discovered by playing... and hearing yourself spill out words for something wildly outside your realm that make you think "hm, but what if?!" Could be, a variation of your "wild notion" just might work.

Whether you're looking for a new answer to getting a car, changing jobs, creating more money, or building a new service with a team of folks online, creative brainstorming by asking "what if" is a simple yet potent tool for allowing the new, by removing perceived roadblocks, to create a brain "storm" that bursts open new energy, for new ways of seeing opportunities.

Coax yourself out of your own box and into the open space of new potentials... and help get your mind outta the way to play a little by asking yourself or your team ~ "what if?"


The "What If" Principle is one that I've come to use in my Creative Coaching & Consulting practice... It is one of many concepts shared in new writings coming to book, multi-media and web formats to inform what I have coined "Creative Change" - the art of doing change, creatively. I hope you will stick around for the ride and follow this blog on the side bar (at www.TidBitsofGold.com) to stay abreast of the news!

Thanks for stopping by ~

by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com

Brainstorm Anyone?

The other day I was helping someone brainstorm an idea, and in the midst of our discussion, I found myself getting into coaching some basic creative principles because I was being hit with barriers that I knew were blocking the flow of new information...

"Can't do" statements were coming at me from every direction, and that's when I realized the "how to" of creative brainstorming is deeply ingrained in me such that, while I do it all the time, I hardly think about it - it's automatic... until confronted with a moment when the flow is being blocked by too many "can'ts."

The beauty of the encounter was that it caused me to get incredibly clear about how and why creative brainstorming works so well... and that's what I want to share... It's all about the power of "what if."

Creative brainstorming - for any purpose - is a critical tool for creating new solutions. Of great importance to the brainstorm process itself is how it is done... Funny, as I write this I realize that while I use this tool constantly in my Creative Coaching life and work to empower new changes and solutions for myself and others - I realize right now that I think I actually learned the basis of this formula back in my early days working for large PR/AD Agencies where there seemed an unspoken law for "how to brainstorm" every time we'd pile into a conference room to help a colleague generate new "stuff" for a client - a new slogan, marketing idea, media pitch and much more.

Little did I know back then, in my much less visionary days when I could hardly see a new idea if it were on my nose, that creative brainstorming and solutioning would become core to the very fabric of my person, not to mention hugely integral in my work. Crazy... but over the years I grew into a fountain of new ideas - huge evidence that things DO change over time!

Nowadays, creative brainstorming spills out into everything I do and say, so the pendulum swung quite far - such that I sorta forgot how hard it once was - until this moment the other day - when I was quickly reminded that not everyone knows how to do the zesty zany brainstorming thing that brings out "light bulb" moments one after another, while waking up creative solutions that have been waiting in the rafters of any home, office or random conversation...

So with some painful memory, I do recall the days when I had no clue for how to allow new ideas... and a full 180 degrees later, I now realize had it not been for the agency environment, I might have had no idea how to brainstorm with even an ounce of zest or zing.

And in reflection, I realize the unique value of this gift... and so in memory of my former left-brain-only self, I share some of the "art of creative brainstorming" I developed over the years to help others with tools that can help any type of new solutioning. It would have been so helpful back in the day, had someone spelled this out years ago for me... so, I share.


...To Be Continued...

More to come... Stay tuned and look for next post. Even better, sign up to follow this blog in the right side bar ~ and catch what comes!


Creative brainstorming is just one of the tools I share in facilitating Creative Coaching for individuals, groups/teams and their projects... It's just the tip of an iceberg I've developed over some 25 years of doing change, creatively. Sharing new writings on what I've coined "Creative Change" - the first book, multimedia formats, website, live programs and much more are being launched this year.

Creative Change is here to stay... I hope you'll stick around for the ride! Please join me by signing up to follow this blog on the right side bar (www.TidBitsofGold.com) and stay abreast of the news that's coming!

Thanks for stopping by ~

Sharon L. Corsaro
www.growing-gold.com

Surrender

I was determined I would be out of here by end of March... today is April 3rd and I'm still here with much yet to do on my plate.

Surrender rings through as I step back to ponder... surrender and know it's all coming. Surrender to what is occurring right now and trust there is a greater plan at work while knowing "the plan" is always evolving and ever so constantly fluid!

Surrender to the fact that I left California to carry out a plan of getting my book written, having the new work packaged, programs launched with new websites plus all sorts of administrative work in order, and well... even just writing it here makes me realize - I am quite the one for setting expectations beyond the highest height.

So I settle... and remind myself... settle down, the pieces and plans are in motion with an energy so much bigger than anything I could possibly conjure up on my own... there's a bigger plan unfolding... and it's simply not stoppable now...

It is true... all things DO come in time... and perhaps it is time I surrender to allow... and take time to notice the miracles!

I am amazed and in awe when I see that every step, every turn there is always a lending hand. I am so supported I have to take note and be thankful... I go to get groceries and stop to see a friend only to be piled with free food because she's leaving town. I take a walk down the road and I'm stopped by someone I only just met to be asked if I can do some work to help them out... I stop over to another friend's at just the right moment to help with a teenage dilemma... When I have the need, I am offered a place to stay, food to eat, vehicle to use and the list continues... So while my bank account may be getting lonely as I spend time writing and working out the plan... I am continually vastly blessed, for whenever I realize a need, I am quickly met with options, answers, solutions... So I continue to be present with those around me, as they do the same for me... and amazing grace is more evident all the time, as though calling out to say "it's okay, just allow, and let go."

I am fulfilling a plan... and yes this darn physical world takes much longer than the speed of my vision. I see something - and want it done - snap of a finger, just like that. Funniest part is, lately it's been a bit scary as things come almost that fast... so I am watchful of my thoughts and try to take it all in! And then there are times when I aim to do *everything* all at once, too much, and I must come back to my knowing, that *time* might need a little more space than I've allowed.

*Surrender* I know is the way... to let go and allow the unfolding of a vision and plan I have very clearly barreled forth into motion... some things just can't be stopped - only need just a little more time.

And so with that again, I am faced with my own teaching... Allow time and space to unfold the works you've set into motion... just take a deep breath, and let go.

hm....


by Sharon L. Corsaro
Learn more at www.growing-gold.com