It has been an incredible time of exploration, discovery, creativity, sublime growth, and Living Lightly. Through self-discovery, my work and connecting in magnificent friendships, I am learning to open up, to communicate and surrender to the flow of love and creativity.

But I keep stumbling upon Edges.

Blockages, barriers or gulfs, through, over or under which energy, love and creativity cannot flow. In myself, disconnection between my mind, body and spirit, fears, and unconscious beliefs create Resistance. The Other in myself speaks a foreign language, with words that are indecipherable, or worse negative. In love, I am finding that when I speak the same language as a friend, communication flows in a hyper-colour torrent of connection, kismet and love. I feel truly connected. I feel got. When we don’t speak the same language however, meaning is lost in the space between. More importantly, compassion is lost. How can I communicate with Love and Grace if I feel unheard or misunderstood?

I wonder if these potential blockages, language barriers, communication breakdowns might be related. Within myself. In relationships. Within organisations. Between fields of knowledge. In designing change? What if we were able to create a common language that allows energy to flow freely, whether in DREAM. MIND. BODY. BEAUTY. LOVE. HOME. WORK. or PLAY.?

I wear a unique Lens.

My natural centre is the Lens shaped by my Heritage, for example genetic, cultural or karmic. As a perfectly congruent contradiction I am rational and logical, yet my sweet spot floats within the creative, intuitive spectrum. My Lens is continually  shaped by my Experience and Knowledge in an iterative cycle. My Lens could be described with labels, Australian, Female, Dreamer, Generation Y, Sustainable Designer, Pantheist, Creative, Minimalist, Renaissance Spirit, Objectivist, optimist. My Lens filters both the experience I receive and all that I create. Communication. Creation. Actions. Love.

My Lens is the construct which allows me to create a concept of Me as an individual, separate from Others and from the Universe. If I am not mindful, my Lens can become rigid. I can stubbornly cling to ideas, or stay away from Edges that challenge my beliefs.

Could this idea help me to negotiate some tricky questions?

• How do I allow my mind, body and spirit to communicate freely with one another so I can experience my world, inhabiting every aspect of myself with ease?
• How do I derive knowledge from my experience of my world, and allow creativity to flow, so that I might Design my Dreams into Action and Illuminate sustainable change in my world?
• How do I create a dialogue, flow in communication and love, with another, particularly someone whose Lens is vastly different to my own?

Can Edges and Lenses help me connect?

The metaphor of Edges and Lenses is a beautiful way for me to understand. I love the idea of the Universe existing as it is, flowing in all of its complex magnificence, with each of us viewing it through a unique Lens. Without this idea I am perplexed when I come up against Edges, believing that miscommunication is a personal failing instead of the inevitable result of Invisible Lenses. Say when I fight with a Love, and feel isolated and misunderstood. I know in my gut that we want the same thing, but we are unable to find the words to get to that place, so we pop on or armour and protect ourselves with hurtful words.

If I am able to imagine us wearing our Lenses, coming up toward an Edge, perhaps I can inch closer to inhabiting grace and compassion, and dissolve our barriers with humour, lightness, and love.

How brilliant might that be?

I don’t want to eliminate the Edges.

The Edges are where I grow. In coming up against resistance, my consciousness is reawakened. In learning to connect with an Other, whether outside or within me, my ideas, assumptions, beliefs are challenged. My Lens is subtly reshaped.  It is friction which sparks creativity.

If I barrel toward the Edge I will come to an abrupt halt. Love, communication and creativity will cease to flow.

If I approach the Edges mindfully, and with compassion, I am more able to translate, build bridges, create beauty and Illuminate change. This is Design.

I can connect with myself. Consciousness. My purpose. My passions. Knowledge. With others. With my Universe.

I am a Designer!

I drew a picture. Because this is how I understand.

I am so excited to share it with you.

I want to Love my whole self. I want to Love with my whole self. To build my life alongside others who speak the same language. Who ground me, yet catapult me into the stars. And who ask for me to do the same for them. I think the idea of Lenses and Edges might help me do this.

I used the example of a Buddhist Lens because that is what I have been exploring lately, but it could just as easily be say, any field of Knowledge (physics, chemistry, biology, maths…), Philosophy (Christianity, Atheism, Objectivism…), Personality (rational, creative, masculine, feminine), or any combination thereof.

Where there are two seemingly opposing sides without a shared language, I think there is a way of translating through Design.

Let’s create a new language. Together.

I’d love you to share the LIVELIGHTLY Love. Simply link to ilivelightly.com xo

I would be delighted to Tweet you!

Where have you come across Edges, blockages, barriers and gulfs? In yourself. Your relationships? Love? Creativity? How have you bridged these gaps? What Lens do you wear? When have you felt that you were speaking a foreign language? How do you create a common language with Others? When have you inhabited grace and compassion on an Edge?

More Minxy Musings...

Knowledge. Building bridges. Love Lightly. New beginnings. Living. Learning. LIGHTLY. I am ready to SHINE. Beauty. Communication. Flow. In Unexpected Places.