What We Can Learn from Her Example?
There are internal (those within our minds) and external (those in the environment) barriers that get in the way of implementing our creative ideas. (To review, a creative idea is one in which two unrelated thoughts come together to form a new idea).
In my last post, I described some of the internal barriers that we might have, such as inertia and the influence of custom. Here, I will describe external barriers and what we need to do to overcome them.
First, the Creative Idea
A brilliant woman I know, Carolyn Phinney, Ph.D., a psychologist and political activist, learned several things that enabled her to form an incredibly creative idea:
- Our local schools couldn't afford to serve healthy salads at lunch.
- Our local food banks weren't able to get good produce.
- Our sanitary district was discharging millions of treated wastewater daily into the bay: a huge waste in an area that suffers from drought (water that could be further treated to serve agriculture).
- The sanitary district owned adjacent land that was unused.
Her idea: Why not develop a farm on the unused land adjacent to the sanitary district and irrigate it with the water that would otherwise flow wastefully into the bay; a farm that would grow produce for schools and food banks?
The External Barriers
- Lack of knowledge: A psychologist turned farmer? She chose to learn about regenerative farming, which sequesters carbon in the soil, improves nutrition, improves yields, and creates drought-resistant soil! (Although I don't intend to become a farmer myself, thanks to Carolyn I've learned about regenerative farming, and I'm confident that as it becomes more widespread it will be a major factor in battling global warming.)
- Red tape: She had to struggle with various governmental organizations to get various permissions and permits to begin creating the farm. These permissions came very slowly; they came on what Carolyn refers to as "government time." (Even a nearby local airport put up barriers; they were afraid that the farm would attract birds, which would endanger their aircraft. As it turned out, the activity on the farm scared away the birds that were already there.)
- Lack of materials: She had to solicit contributions from local businesses and organizations: everything from compost and mulch to fencing to plants.
- Lack of labor: She solicited volunteer help from friends, political associates, high school students, and Boy Scouts.
The farm is now well underway. Using just one of its fifteen acres so far, it has produced many thousands of pounds of produce, which have been donated to schools and food banks. And the farm offers classes and internships in sustainable agriculture.
What It Took to Overcome These External Barriers
Persistence: It took Carolyn several years to bring her idea to fruition. While frustrated by the external barriers (I believe that red tape was the worst of them), she tenaciously hung in there until she accomplished her goal.
Courage: Most of all, this endeavor required tremendous courage. As I mentioned in my previous post, it takes courage to renounce an established way of doing things. It involves confronting the unknown. Will it work? If it doesn't, will that cause difficulties? Carolyn embraced both her own new idea and the new idea of regenerative farming.
She had the courage to approach and tangle with governmental organizations, and the courage to approach people and organizations who could provide necessary assistance and ask for their help. She is an amazing person.
The Inner Guide
Carolyn accomplished all this by herself (with the help of people she had the initiative and courage to enlist). For most of us, creating and embracing an idea of this significance would require the help of our Inner Guide. We would need its help in overcoming all the barriers, internal and external, to bring our new ideas to fruition. And because it is dedicated to increasing our comfort, it works to eliminate any fears we might have, which gives us the necessary courage to implement our creative ideas. If you don't yet have an Inner Guide, you can acquire one here: https://emotionalcomfort.com/blog/post/you-can-acquire-an-inner-guide-part-4
