The Divine Secret of the Ya-Ya Synchro club: Cold hands; Warm hearts!!

In a few days from now I will have to attend a wedding. Though I hate all sorts of weddings and all that happen in such occasions, this one is rather special. It’s the wedding of one of my childhood friends. I knew her since I was 11 years old; so it makes us friends for over a decade now. We met when we were in the synchronized swimming team…..actually its not the friend specifically that want to talk about here, but it’s the entire atmosphere that accompanied us as little “synchro girls” as we used to call ourselves; spending endless hours doing nothing but training, and our only entertainment was us joking around with each other to make the hours pass by.

Thinking back on the synchro days gives me the chill. I still remember when we used to swim for hours in the winter in the cold water. Funny how they insisted to keep the water cold, even in the winter; actually, especially in the WINTER!!! We used to stand at the ends of the pool singing and sometimes begging our coach “Coach, please have mercy, its freezing cold” (Coach, allah ye7’aleeky 2el donya bard; 2el donya bard). In addition to the normal training days, there were the competitions where we had to stay in the water for 5 minutes and out in the air for the next five, and still FUNNY that most competitions were also in the winter!! And the water still not heated, but as cold as an ice berg!!

Though it all sounds like torture, the long training hours, the fierce exercise, and the freezing water, and the rain sometimes; I just can not help but having a huge smile on my face while reminiscing these days. See, for me it’s not about the cold, the wetness, the muscle strains, nor the toughness of our coaches and judges. For me it’s all about the cheers, the laughs, the support, and the bond that we achieved in both trainings and competitions. We were like inseparable sisters, which spent each and every moment of the day together; confiding to one another, competing with grace, and taking care of each other.

Ironic isn’t it? That in such a chilling, cold, and freezing environment was born a relationship that is so warm and genuine that it lasted till this very day. I guess that is the divine secret of the Ya-Ya sisterhood synchro club; in the coldest surroundings came the warmest of hearts!!

Turning cold up there: How can someone creative trun cold, and how can they bounce back?

Ok…so they say that the right hemisphere of the brain is the creative side. It is the side that is in control of one’s imaginations, visual thoughts, artistic works, and musical sense. It is what makes the geniuses of the world such as Mozart, Van Gogh, Leonardo DaVinci, Beethoven, Fellini, and many other great artistic minds of the ancient and the modern world become who they are. But have you ever thought of Beethoven behind a desk doing paper work from 9 to 5 each day? What would such a thing do to him? And where would he be now if he led such a routine like life?

Notice quite well that I haven’t mentioned any writers above, not because I see them any less of great minds than the ones mentioned; but because today I will not be talking about a writer’s block, but I will be talking about “Creative Coldness” in general.

“Creative Coldness” as I define it would be; the lack of any creative or innovative thoughts in one’s mind; which could lead to a life of indifference and a low drive to even try. How would I know such a condition? I would because that’s what I’m going through these days.

Ever since I was little girl I have been surrounded by artistic minds and talents. I used to dance, sing, and participate in school shows and plays. Even when I grew up; I couldn’t stand apart from that crowd; I was an active member at the university choir, and worked in various stage productions outside of my school. I only did it because I loved it, not because I was getting anything of it such as money, because I never did. I loved the thrill of creating something new from scratch, and seeing how it can grow before one’s eyes to be displayed or performed in its end form to the audience. I still maintained such life even after I graduated and started working. However, at some point I had other financial obligations that I had to go find another job that is more demanding but pays better.

Don’t get me wrong; I love my new job, but unfortunately not as much as I loved working at the theatre. The problem is that with this job, I have no time to commit to anything else but the job; it’s all about the job!!! If only I can do both….go to work in the morning and then rehearse a play at the evening after working hours. That’s my dream these days.

I am not trying to whine here, but I started finding my self reaching a red zone where it would be very hard for me to return from. My right hemisphere is not being exercised enough…and I noticed that when I was at a brainstorming session at CONVO talking about the new issue. There it hit me!! I have no thoughts or ideas…it’s like I’ve turned dry…no not dry, COLD! That’s why I decide writing this article…trying to find out the reasons that have made me reach such a point, and maybe by finding the reasons I’d be able to find the solution to my problem. This article is also dedicated towards those who used to live in an artistic environment but due to growing up and social and financial obligations they had to take stable, desk, and suit up with 9 to 5 jobs. The first indicator for you to know that you are in the red zone, is that when you find your self in a situation that was the easiest for you to handle creatively and you no longer can!! This is when you should take action.

The only reason that I can see behind such “Creative Coldness” is routine, and only routine!! Routine is what will make our brains go numb, like any muscle if it doesn’t get enough exercise it will turn cold. That’s why I believe that the ultimate solution for such a problem is trying to break the routine by any means trying to be involved in activities that will stimulate our creative minds again.

Personally, I believe that we have to force our selves into finding time for the things we love. Maybe take an hour daily or weekly dancing, singing, writing, drawing, or acting. With each week passing by, we should double the amount of time spent on that activity. Also, it would be better to engage in more that one activity as to stimulate our sense again. In addition to this; a very effective method that learned from my friends that went through this before me is meditating. Meditating will allow us to disconnect from the rest of the worries of work and life, and later on be able to focus on dong that special thing that we love without getting distracted whatsoever.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: “Love thy self” and do the things that you love, don’t get caught up in the worries of everyday; or else you will fund your life passing by in no time without achieving anything that you love. This is when you will fee that you entire life was all in vain. Learn how to stir up your creativity and warming it up…no one will tell you how to do that except yourself. Only you can know what to do….and only you who will allow your self to bounce from creative coldness to creative warmness.