A spark of an idea

You know the feeling. An idea hits you. You can’t shake it. It consumes you. It excites you. You can’t stop. It won’t stop.

I started reading Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert a few months ago, a recommendation from an inspiring friend I met this past year on my hummingbird path, Amy Giddon. For months I had been intimidated by this book. I told myself, “it’s for creators, creatives, writers, designers…not me.” And then Amy encouraged me to give it a chance. We are all creators.

Gilbert presents a concept that ideas have consciousness. Truthfully, if I read this two years ago, I would have rolled my eyes and moved on. But, I believe in the power of energy. I believe that it’s contagious and that it’s alive. And, dare I say that I believe our loved ones who have crossed over can embody the energy around us (okay, definitely for another post, perhaps once I’m braver to explore here!)

All of this to say, when I read her concept that ideas have consciousness, I didn’t roll my eyes. I didn’t close the book. I kept reading.

Gilbert suggests that ideas are energetic life forms that have consciousness and will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse to be made manifest. Ideas need to collaborate with a human partner and if they aren’t interested — ignore the signs, say ‘no’, or they are simply not ‘in tune’ — the idea moves on, from soul to soul.

The idea will manifest, through you or someone else. She has a super cool example in her book, bringing this to life (you can read that for yourself, to become a believer, like me!) I digress.

I share all of this because that’s how my blog, A Glittering, was born.

The idea I just couldn’t shake

I was talking to a friend about our two week trip to Italy. She wanted to hear where we went, what tips I had, and, most importantly, she wanted my packing list! She knows I’m an organization freak and wanted to see the outfits/combos I packed, my checklists, and how I got it all in a carry-on!

We laughed because we’ve both done the Google searches.

“How to pack my kids in a carry on for two weeks?”

“What to pack for two weeks in Italy?”

And we both found the fashionista travel bloggers, the perfect little Pinterest outfit capsules, the Insta influencers, and trendy flat sandals and adorable dresses for nights on the town.

ANNNDDDDD, we are mid-40s mommas, traveling with our partners and our elementary-aged kids. We want REAL. We want practical, comfortable travel outfits that are still cute and on-trend, just not trying so damn hard!

I thought, YES! I can do this. I’ll send her an email with all the deets.

I did just that. I went to a coffee shop and put together a detailed, organized list of where we went and and what we did. And then, I just couldn’t stop — our favorite spots, the “best ofs”, the “must haves”, the “don’t forgets”!

I thought, “This will be so helpful to send to people when they ask!” And “Wow, I wish I had this when I was planning!” And then, “Why the heck wouldn’t I just post it myself, make it a thing?”

THE SPARK!

And then my mind went wild. I couldn’t sleep.

“So, is this going to be a blog about packing lists?”

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Maybe. Yessss? Yes, AND so much more.

The truth is that I have so much I’ve wanted to say.

About…

• Quitting my job — it was scary! and awesome! and SCARY! AND ✨

• Consulting life and the people I’ve met

• Working from home and for myself

• Giving back and community

• My tribe, my Board of Advisors, my “ride or dies”

• Connection and how it’s a super power and the lifeblood for all of us

• Family travel — start ‘em young!

• Oak Cliff, New Orleans, and my other favorite places!

• My momming organization hacks: checklists, chore charts, holiday calendars, summer camp strategies, who knows?!

I have pages of unfinished LinkedIn posts. Why? Because not everything feels LinkedIn appropriate. And not everything needs to be an Insta Story.

But I have stories waiting to be told. They don’t fit into a box, a precise category. Perhaps this place is more for me than for you — to capture my thoughts and feelings, a digital diary of sorts.

And, you know what?! Sometimes I just want to ramble. I want to write. To let the pen flow. I don’t want to be confined to character counts or what I should say to optimize a click.

I simply want to be me. To be authentic. To share what I know, what’s important to me, and what I think others may benefit from reading.

If you’re not interested, don’t read it.

If you are, well, ENJOY and get more reflections and updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to A Glittering on Substack!