Q: What does creativity mean to you?
A: What a powerful question. My mind is quick to answer but when I center in my body an unexpected response arises from that stillness. My answer is presence. When I am in the flow of creative energy I feel present in a way that excites my molecules. Creativity means thriving and feeling fully alive.
Q: What are some of your most enjoyable creative outlets?
A: I love photographing, writing, and making (and sending) mixed-media postal art.
Q: Where do you find creative joy in your everyday life?
A: I’ve lived in the same neighborhood in San Francisco for 17 years and I have so much gratitude that every time I go out for a walk something in my environment sparks creative joy. Sometimes I photograph it and share, and sometimes I just take it in with a deep breath and smile.
Q: How did creativity coaching sessions affect your relationship to your creativity?
A: Our sessions helped motivate me to finally start a photography website to share my pictures out with the world. At first my goal was to make a bad photography blog. Once I accomplished that, it slowly evolved into a pretty decent-looking website. (As an aside, I do have Instagram but I keep my account private and I also wanted an outlet without “likes” so that the motivation for posting was fundamentally an internal one.)
Q: What’s a project you’re currently interested in?
The website is a daily photo project and mindfulness practice that I started in Summer of 2020. It's titled "name three things," which is based on a grounding exercise that helps redirect thoughts away from distressing feelings (like worrying about the pandemic) and back to the present moment. I invite viewers to name their own three things in the photo (before scrolling down to see what I name) so it's fun and interactive that way.
(Photos copyright Meghan Rand)
Q: What nurtures your creativity? What shuts it down?
A: Gentleness and spaciousness nurture my creativity. Judgment and high expectations shut it down.
I also love your Co-Creation time every Sunday afternoon PT. I feel fulfilled just in knowing I have at least one hour a week to do something explicitly creative.
Q: What types of creative events do you like to attend in non-Covid times?
A: I love the ballet, music shows, stand-up comedy, and interviews with writers at events like City Arts & Lectures
Q: Who do you think creativity coaching might benefit?
A: Literally everyone. Creativity is soooo core to who we are as humans and your approach is not confined to coaching around creativity. Your coaching style affected me at a core level that impacted more than just my relationship to my creativity. It nourished my relationship to the deepest part of myself that finds connection to everything through a true loving acceptance of all of myself.
Q: What inspires you lately?
A: I’ve been learning a lot from the Culture First podcast
Most of us spend the majority of our waking time at work and, especially with so much working-from-home, I’ve been inspired by the creativity and care a lot of companies are taking to promote wellbeing for their employees.
Q: What’s something we did together in our coaching sessions that has impacted you most?
A: You are truly brilliant at asking insightful questions that lead to deep realizations. You helped me own some of my biggest strengths that I had previously viewed as my biggest weaknesses. Thank you, Paige.
Learn more about Meghan and her work by following her beautiful and inspiring photo blog, and come join us both sometime at the weekly Co-Creation Time meetings she regularly attends. We'd love to see you there!