Sunshine in a Jar

Archive for the ‘The Sunshine Project’ Category

As the return to work creeps closer with each sunrise, I think about time. I’ve always been a time management junkie, reading Stephen Covey for strategies, reading Wayne Dyer for balance, experimenting along the way.  I bought a Blackberry mostly for its calendar!

I long for the feeling of time I had as a child, when the days seemed to stretch across continents.  William Wordsworth writes: “Sweet childish days, that were as long, As twenty days are now.” 

The spirit of sunshine in a jar is to honour our time with meaning and joy. 

Last week, I turned off the Internet and the television to write.  I went for walks. I read. I went on retreat. This is the third summer I go on retreat. Four writers and I rent a space in the Madawaska area and we write and share and give feedback.  It’s like spending a week in a literary wonderland.

Now that I am home, I wonder how to hold onto my writing routine, how to resist the television and facebook and twitter and online news, how to be present in my writerly mind and in my relationships.

Alexander Graham Bell says: “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”

My plan is to focus on two major writing projects:

• Anthology of Cottage Stories
• Sunshine in a Jar: A Life History

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.  ~Agatha Christie

How do you decide where to focus your creative energies?

Ben Harper feeds my soul. Take some time today to listen to a musical genius.

She’s Only Happy in the Sun and With My Own Two Hands are my favourite songs from the album “Diamonds on the Inside.” Visit Harper’s website to learn more about his music.

Yesterday I finished Mukhtar Mai’s memoir, “In the Name of Honor.” Mai recounts the horrific events of June 2002 when she was gang raped in her village in Pakistan for the alleged crimes of her brother.  Mai reports the rape and embarks on an arduous journey to justice. Her case is still unresolved, sitting with The Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Mai speaks out about violence against women. Mai opens two schools for girls and boys in her village. Mai inspires women in Pakistan and abroad to use our voices, to value education, and to persevere even when we are afraid.

Mai reminds me that I am blessed to be Canadian. In the summer of 2002, as Mai struggled for safety, I lived in my own apartment. I taught high school Dramatic Arts. I researched university Master’s programs. I prepared for a five week tour across Europe. I am three years younger than Mai.

I dress, talk, live, study, spend, travel, dine, and read freely. My life overflows with an abundance of choices. I am a Canadian woman and I am grateful for safety, education, and independence.

I still live on my own. I teach high school English. I study at the University of Toronto. I’ve traveled across Europe, the United States, and Canada.

I don’t know how to articulate my feelings after reading Mai’s book. Although we are close in age, our lives are so different. The gap haunts me.

Sunshine in a jar represents a vibrant, strong, meaningful inner life. Mukhtar Mai can teach us how to let our lights shine in the darkest moments.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Sabastian. He dreamed of becoming a writer. From the time he learned the Alphabet song, he recognized the power of letters. While other children played with blocks, Sabastian played with letters, building words and phrases and sentences until he was writing whole stories. From lost snowflakes and found puppy dogs to ferocious dinosaurs and sleeping turtles, he wrote.

Sabastian’s mother called his gift sunshine because whenever Sabastian was lost in the thrill of a story, sunshine radiated out of him. He glowed. ‘The sun always shines for Sabastian,’ she chimed.

One day it rained. It rained so heavily that Sabastian didn’t write for days. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Sabastian, now a forty-year-old man, had a family of his own. He ached to write. At nights, after his family was asleep, he would sneak into the kitchen with his yellow pad of paper and stare at it. After an hour, he sadly put the paper away, writing nothing. For years he couldn’t figure out how to recapture his sunshine.

Something drastic needed to be done. A month later, Sabastian kissed his wife on the forehead, squished his children close to his heart, and set out on a pilgrimage to find his sunshine, using the money he had saved for a rainy day.

His first stop was London, England. When he arrived at the theatre, his heart skipped a beat. The whispers of great playwrights danced on his shoulders.

“What brings you to the Globe, love?” A woman wrapped in a turquoise shawl slipped beside him as he admired the grand stage.

“Shakespeare. You?”

“I’m not visiting, love.” Her brown eyes were electric and piercing.

As she turned her lips up to smile, he knew. It was the great Dame–the most illustrious actress in

London.

“Where do you find it? How can you capture magic onstage every night without fail?”

“It’s all right here.” She tapped her heart.

His next stop: Florence. From statues to architecture to paintings in the Uffizi, sunshine greeted him at every turn.

“How did you do it?” He whispered while relishing the glory of Michaelangelo’s David. “How did you create so much? How could you hold onto your passion and vision?”

In the quiet of the gallery, the answer came to him. Diligence.

Finally, Sabastian journeyed to Greece. Sunshine blanketed him as he reread his favourite myths from the top of Mount Olympus.

“How have these stories lived for centuries?”A scrunched flyer tumbled to his feet. ‘Understand the mystery of life and humanity.’ He didn’t need to read further. Returning home, Sabastian felt inspired to write. Late that night, after everyone was asleep, he tiptoed to the kitchen with his yellow pad of paper. He sat. He stared. Nothing.

Then, he looked up beyond the page. The kitchen was bathed in a most peculiar light. He saw colourful letters dancing in the orange juice on the counter, stories swimming with the goldfish on the shelf, and beautiful phrases glowing in the artwork on the fridge.

Sabastian closed his eyes and listened to the words tumbling from the sunshine in his heart. He began to write, surrounded by the most valuable treasures in his life.

This story was first published in the Word Weaver in February/March 2004

Books enter my life at precisely the time I need them. Last week, I picked up Gretchen Rubin’s inspiring book The Happiness Project.

My head nodded in agreement for much of the first chapter. Rubin is onto something here! She writes:

Contemporary research shows that happy people are more altruistic, more productive, more helpful, more likable, more creative, more resilient, more interested in others, friendlier, and healthier. Happy people make better friends, colleagues, and citizens.

My sunshine in a jar research resonates with this. I want to learn how educators can be happier.

I look forward to reading the rest of Rubin’s book and maybe start a happiness project of my own. I’ll keep you posted!

On Saturday, March 27 I will present my research at OISE. I’m looking forward to it.  Maybe I’ll see you there!

This is a work in progress exploring the role of metaphor in my life as an educator and in the lives of other educators. The goal of my Arts-informed research is to use the metaphor “sunshine in a jar” to explore the presence and preservation of joy and creativity in the life of an educator. It’s about re-inspiring a sense of passion and moral purpose in educators who need to reinvigorate their inner lives. This presentation utilizes an art display and the performance of a one-act play to take the lid off metaphor as a way to engage participants in discussion about how educators can learn to “burn in” rather than “burn out.” This presentation invites participants to contemplate joy and its presence in their work. To conclude, participants are asked to engage in reflexive inquiry and answer the question: what’s in your jar?

Click here for more information.

On the weekend I wanted to play around with my paints to see what sunshine in a jar might look in different phases.

The results were: Storm Cloud in a Jar, Sunshine in a Jar, and Taking the Lid Off

By Jessica Outram

By Jessica Outram

By Jessica Outram

The song was originally used as an instrumental theme in the movie “Modern Times.” The lyrics were added later by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. Nat King Cole released the first version with lyrics.

I’ve always loved this song. I remember listening to the Holly Cole Trio for hours in the early 90s. I’d lie on the floor and imagine myself sinking into the carpet. The vibrations from the music would enter through my ears. I would feel the shifting notes in my body. And, then I would sing. She carried the song to me.

When I was a teenager I interpreted the song as a way of being in the world. Stiff upper lip. Don’t let your sadness show. Be cheerful all the time. Smile.

I remember watching Robert Downey Jr. in the movie “Chaplin.” I remember thinking about how sad Chaplin was and how this song represented his rock. A touchstone.  A method of travelling out of a pit of darkness. 

I remember singing it at the end of the 90s at a tree planting ceremony at Queen’s University following the Columbine shootings. The song changed its meaning for me then. It was about holding onto hope in a difficult time. It was about finding a way to trust and love and believe in goodness again because the alternative was to hide. To run away. To deny the sadness. To give into the fear.

Now when I hear the song I think about choice. I choose to live in the sunshine. I choose to look for goodness. I choose to think about goodness and build from goodness. Although the song remains as a way of being for me, it isn’t about stuffing my feelings away anymore. It’s about acknowledging them, being with them, and then finding a way to reconnect with my sunshine, my humanity.

For 17 years this song has given me comfort in times of distress. I still close my eyes, sink into the carpet, and sing. And, after some time passes I can smile again.

To me, this song is about sunshine in a jar.

Smile, though your heart is aching

Smile, even though it’s breaking

When there are clouds in the sky

you’ll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You’ll see the sun come shining through

for you

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near

That’s the time you must keep on trying

Smile what’s the use of crying

You’ll find that life is still worthwhile

If you’ll just

Smile

So excited. Today is the day I create a model of my metaphor. I want to bring it to life and see it before me.

 I began by going to the craft store and picking up supplies. I imagined texture, sparkles, metallic, orange, red, gold, yellow, and a giant foam ball.  As I filled my cart with delights, I realized I didn’t have a base. What was I going to use to keep the sun in the air?

Twenty minutes and lots of foam possibilities later, I knew. Duh? How could I miss it? I needed a jar. The sun will be exploding out of the jar. Ribbons everywhere. Colour. Sparkle. Shine.

I began by filling the jar and creating the base. It took several attempts to figure out what would work best. For some reason I started with purple foam to represent the creativity. But then I realized I was overcomplicating the project…it all needed to be sunshine.

My next step was to cover a large foam ball with shiny gold foil. I was thrilled that it reflected so well in the light.  And, I was very surprised to see that it had a rose pattern. Roses are very important and symbolic in my life.  How fitting for them to appear now…

Once the ball was transformed into a shining sun, it was time to add it to the base. I used two small dowlings stuck into a floral block in the jar.

Next came more ribbon, lots of rays, and far too many glue gun burns.  And, ta da! Sunshine in a jar is created!

I need to wait until next week to finish this project. I want to use a super labeller to mark what each part of the sun represents.

Cheers!

Ideally you will learn how to build your own structure or limits which will prevent you from floundering around trying to do everything–or even from wondering what to do…So the structure is there for you and you are also the structure–your particular gifts help shape it (Kent, 64).

Corita’s art reflects her spirituality, her commitment to social justice, her hope for peace, and her delight in the world that takes place all around us.  –The Corita Art Centre

Doing and making are acts of hope, and as that hope grows, we stop feeling overwhelmed by the troubles of the world. We remember that we–as individuals and groups–can do something about those troubles (Kent, 1).

Kent, Corita and Jan Steward. Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit. United States: Bantam Books, 1992.