Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Clean Up the World

It is a sunny September morning and the wind has finally dropped in the perpetually breezy Southern Spanish town of Tarifa. I live in the most southern point of mainland Europe, a paradise of long white beaches, migratory wetlands and lush mountains of pine and cork oak.


The lack of breeze is making it easy for me to rummage through the grass verge picking up stray, wind-blown plastic, discarded food wrappers and old, forgotten tissues. Around me, five or six other people are picking through the bushes, gathering junk.

Earlier in the day I met with a bunch of passionate, solution focused people, as we collected rolls of black sacks, rubber gloves and hand-painted signs and were allocated areas around the town to clean. This action is part of the Clean Up the World campaign, a worldwide movement aimed at collective responsibility for the mess we are making on our planet.


A number of things are running through my mind as I work… love for the environment, satisfaction at being of service, a warmth that I am taking responsibility for something and a sense of community and connection, not just with the people I am working with, but with nature herself.

As I pick up the flotsam and jetsam of our modern life, I can feel nature within me, around me, as an extension of the planet. I wonder how much of humanity has some kind of disconnect going on in their heads. There seems to be a correlation between the separation and isolation we feel and the amount of rubbish and packaging we are using on the planet. The further we get from nature and each other, stuck in our heads and egos, the more separate we feel thus the more useless stuff we tend to buy in order to fill that void. Packaging separates us from our food, from materials, from nature itself. Yet humans are nature. Nature is us. We are part of a vast ecology that is begging for us to wake up and realise this simple fact. In our separation from who we really are, we lose our way, senselessly consuming without regard for the results.

It is plainly apparent that the biggest amount of junk is plastic. My local supermarket advises using a disposable plastic glove to pick fruits from the display to put them in a plastic bag which will go in another plastic bag at the checkout if I were to follow all the ‘rules’. This is wholly a modern problem yet all of us are complicit in the continuation of such materials because we have not yet chosen to stand our ground when it comes to shopping and many of us are not aware of the alternatives. Plastics can very easily be made out of super sustainable hemp, creating super bio-degradable packaging that makes good compost! Yet that is only half the issue really.


Having good alternatives to plastic, having good rubbish solutions and recycling systems are not nearly as effective as not creating it in the first place and this is always our first port of call. We have the choice to shop more carefully, take our own bags, to consider what we are buying. Is there a less-resource hungry product out there? We can drop our awareness into our hearts as we shop, connect with our nature, and ask ourselves what good choices we can make today. We can decide to buy loose vegetables, take our own bags shopping and buy food from counters rather than pre-packed fridges. We can refuse packaging and extra bags. Clean Up the World makes it perfectly clear that we can go out anytime to pick up rubbish. It doesn’t just have to be their once a year weekend.

One thing I didn’t feel over the course of the day was anger. I didn’t blame anyone for the mess. Clean Up the World emphasises that we are all in this together. That means letting go of separation and blame. What occurs is a sense of community, responsibility, heart-connection and oneness with the planet. It feels good picking up rubbish. I highly recommend it.

Top Tips for Cleaning Up the World

  1. Take a plastic bag with you when you go walking. You can pick up any litter you see. 
  2. Go out into nature, breathe deeply, connect your breath to all that is around.
  3. Let go of anger. We are in this together. This is our rubbish. 
  4. Picking up rubbish is a grand opportunity to do something that feels good today!
  5. Say no to unnecessary packaging and plastic bags.
  6. Take your own bags shopping.
  7. Shop in places that you can choose loose or refillable produce and packaging.
  8. Investigate and educate yourself about hemp plastics.
  9. Organise a Clean Up the World group to clean an area near you.
  10. Communicate with your local council about your clean-up day.

Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Create February Fabulous! - Retrospect

February has finally come to a close and the rest of the year beckons enticingly as I look back on a month of creativity. I started a project with just myself in mind. To create and share a piece of art every day in February. I ended up creating a page and sharing my idea with a few friends and the group has gently grown over the last month.

Colour Square Sphere - Olafur Eliasson
I chose February because there I was at the start of the month looking for something to do. February seemed to fit. It doesn’t have that ominous, quick to end, New Year’s Resolution disappointment. It is a short month and this year has that magical extra day. An extra opportunity to start new things.

I must confess, I did not manage to create and post a piece of art, writing, or music every day. I am what I would call, an awakening artist. Whilst I am not new to creativity, I am certainly new to treating my art as a daily practice. I am new to telling myself that I am a precious human soul that is allowed to create, dream and imagine. I have always been in that place of wanting, but some voices have often held me back from stepping fully into this artistic life.

Even though I didn’t create something every day, I can count numerous victories. I started my blog again which has been the primary commentator of this project. I have written some great poems this month. I finally broke through an immense barrier within me and busked on the street where before, there was enormous fear. I have started selling my photos online and have taken some great shots recently. I have baked some new things and improved my kitchen skills. In the last two weeks, I started practicing my guitar again, played a local open mic twice and got a gig off the back of it and have had the best time ever singing! Last but not least was the creation of a small idea which is slowly growing. Within that idea, I have met, seen and been inspired by a whole bunch of talented artists and their work.

Part of the reason I wanted to create a group was the benefit I could see from isolated artists and creators connecting in a safe, judgement free environment. I feel that creativity is the life-blood of humanity. It is our reason for being and we need to nurture, respect and cultivate those urges within us in order to connect. I wanted to create a group that welcomes artists of all levels, from beginners to experts, and maybe provide a future forum and support network for anyone that wants to begin exploring their own creativity. There are future plans indeed.

I have seen countless people hold themselves back from creating, art, music and dance. I have heard even more people tell me they are not creative, cannot sing or do not have an artistic bone in their body yet simply living is an art in itself. Creativity takes countless forms and we are so much more creative than we tend to notice.

We often tell ourselves we are no good much to the detriment of our own minds, bodies and souls. Most of the time we are comparing ourselves to others, whether it is their success, talent or material wealth we envy. Yet at other times, we celebrate art, music and dance with a fever only matched by the energy that created it in the first place.

"A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years." - Byron Katie 

I believe we can all create. I believe we can all aspire to whatever we dream of and be able to experience that desire in this lifetime. I think other people’s art and creative processes are a source of inspiration, unity and wealth. Even though I still struggle with that inner critic that tells me I will never be that good, brilliant, rich, healthy, successful… I feel that my heart speaks a grander truth.

Creativity is our birth right. Creativity is what makes life happen. Creativity happens on a far grander scale than we can imagine. We are creating all the time. We create within our day to day lives. With our words, our actions. Even our thoughts are creative. If we can encourage good thoughts, and a good environment in which to create, then I think there is room for us all to realise our hopes and dreams in a healthy and sustainable way that does not harm another or the planet. Creativity unites us. Creativity is versatile enough to accommodate everyone. Creativity is a sacred, life-affirming bond between us and the world around us.

So as I sit on the threshold of March, I can honestly say that it has been a joy to partake in this idea. I shall now change the name of the group to simply “Create Fabulous”. Over the course of this year I am sure myself and others will come up with some new ideas, collaborations and even workshops that encourage and support finding our creative selves. I shall be blogging more, writing more and singing more. The Facebook group itself will remain open to artists to join and share their work over the course of the year and next February, we will once again focus on every day creation and maybe we can make it a thing! Follow the link below to join the group.

Wishing you always, a very creative day,

Love, love, love…

Matt Rivers

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Create February Fabulous! - Leaps of Faith

I have been undertaking a small challenge for myself. It is to create something every day in February. The reason for doing this is to create a new habit within me that is supportive of my dreams and desires. I have always been creative and have always had creative urges but like many of us, have lived with a number of fears that held me back.


Amongst other things I am a musician but have long been crippled by my own limiting beliefs. Voices from childhood, fear of others opinions, fear of judgement, of looking a fool and the big one, of not being worthy or good enough. This led me to completely stifle my musical urges because it was easier than face the voices, the risks and the edge of my comfort zone. I generally did okay at gigs but it took me a long time to build up my courage and play one. Not motivated is what you would call me.

The absolute worst thing I could do was busk. To me that was the pinnacle of vulnerability and risk. That was to lay myself bare to everything, to completely expose myself to the public without a reason. With this in mind, over the last few months, I have been working gently but consistently on loving myself, listening to the emotions that flow through me and just opening to my senses without getting lost in my mind. Sitting, being, allowing.

Lately I faced some big fears on a snowy mountain and made an effort to listen and relax. I let go of the tension in my body, I allowed myself to be in this moment and looked for things going right, right now.

On Sunday I finally played an open mic event even though I was scared, tired, and unpractised. I took a step forward with faith. At 3.30 in the morning, a local promoter who was also at the open mic (things start late in Spain), offered me a gig the next Sunday in a big Irish pub.

Today I decided to venture into town to practice my set. I found a nice spot in the park on the mountain above the Alcazaba. I had to practice anyway so I told myself I was just practicing outside. I happened to have my guitar case open and I offered my songs to the sea, the sun, the trees and the people who passed by.

Occasional moments of fear passed through me but I kept telling myself I was safe and loved. I sat for 90 minutes busking, out in the open. I didn't die. I focused on the task at hand, practicing my set. No one told me off. No one judged me. My music was a gift to nature. What I had held in complete fear and terror melted into total illusion under the beautiful spring sun. My fears seemed to pass like clouds on a windy day. I even made enough spare change for a few beers.

What I want to say is this... Those fears that you thought were big are probably not as big as you think they are. We are wonderful imagineers us humans. We are very good at giving substance to things which don't exist.

Love yourself. Nurture yourself. Listen to yourself. Take it bit by bit but step you must. However small the step. The step will give you confidence. You do not need to leap. Just step. Fears can be dissolved and put to good use. You can thrive and shine.

I wish you much love and courage and baby steps.

Love, love, love...

Matt 

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 


Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!




Thursday, 11 February 2016

Create February Fabulous! - Make Love to Life

Great sex is life-affirming, joyous and pleasurable. It leaves us satisfied yet eager for more. It puts us in a place of present moment connection with our lover and enhances the bond between us. Our lover thrives on gentleness and presence. Relaxation and trust allow us to let go and be ourselves whether it builds into wild passionate abandon or whether we flow and intertwine into a fluid and singular being, dancing with our hearts open. Of course, sex takes many forms and has many songs but the fundamental tenets of consent, trust, attraction and passion lie at the heart of our most natural and fundamental desires.


 Our relationship to life works in much the same way. Just like our lover, we cannot inspire the best within us if we are harsh, desperate, fearful or critical. We cannot expect life to yield to us ecstatic moments of pure joy if we have approached our experiences with anger, hopelessness or judgement.

Not that we should deny our emotions or pretend they do not exist. They must be listened to and they must be embraced and loved. There is great value in treating yourself as a precious object and embracing the difficult emotions in order to hear what they are saying to you. When we can start to hear the messages of our body, instead of reacting to them and throwing them outwards, we start to develop our relationship with ourselves and thus with life. All we have to do is become quiet and listen to ourselves and our bodies.

Life may teach us about sex but sex can teach us about life. A great lover is admired and loved. So too can we learn to admire and love the rhythms of life and the experiences that come to us. We can begin to admire and love ourselves. A great lover is caressed to lofty passion through delicate sensations that build over time; each of us preferring a different touch, a different way. Life touches us all the time and we reach out into life with our thoughts and perceptions. There is great value in allowing our thoughts to linger in places that feel good, in areas and subjects that allow our essence to flow. A great lover has rhythms we can tune into so that we begin dancing as one. Life too has a flow that we can choose to accept in the moment, not forcing or struggling, but following the tide, like water to the moon.

If we make love to life, we approach life as a lover. We are patient and artful. We are present in the moment, connected and trusting. We notice that our thoughts and words have power. We notice that our perceptions create realities and we adjust them in order to experience something new. We are free to choose new ideas and to focus on the beautiful aspects of what we see. Just as we complement our lovers, so we learn to complement life and look for that which arouses us, which ignites our hearts and sets our souls free. Just as we notice that appreciation affects our lovers, we realise that we too are affected by our own attitudes. We treat ourselves as we treat our lovers. We hold ourselves in high-regard. We are precious objects.

Slowly we realise that life is responding to us in much the same way. Slowly we realise that life yields and opens up to us as we open up our hearts to life. We approach our situations with new eyes, choosing to look for the silver linings as we listen to our intuitive guidance within. Life echoes us and just as we dance with our lover, so we dance with life.

Make love, in everything you do…

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Create February Fabulous! - The Music Inside

Day 9

There is something fundamental within a human to want to create. As children we are forever in our imagination, creating at will and we are often coerced out of these habits as we grow up – whether by ourselves or the influence of parents, society or religion. But what happens if that creative urge never left us? What happens if we are all meant to be creators from the moment we are born until the moment we die but somehow we just left it by the wayside. Perhaps it is time to reignite the fires within and let out the creative genius that you are.



Create February Fabulous! was born of an idea I had to produce something creative every day in February. It is my idea of showing up to the page because I have often stuggled with wanting to create and not being able to. It is a way to be accountable and to challenge myself a bit. It is turning into something more than that. An exploration of creativity and a sharing of art with other beautiful creators around the world.


Procrastination, contrary to popular belief, is not laziness. It is fear. It is the ego fearing to let go as we dive deep into something transcendental like drawing or meditation or music. A favourite teacher of mine Jamie Catto helped me to see this. Perhaps many of us let go of arts and creativity because at some point we ‘grew’ up and got side-tracked. Now when we think of art, we either do not have the time, disregard the urge or intuition or suffer in silence, knowing not what ails us.

So how do we free the artist inside? How do we even know if we want to create something? Well, noticing any attraction to colour, music, dance, movement and words is a pretty good sign that there is something resonating inside that would love to create, make or take part in something. Think of how good it feels when you join in a rousing chorus at a celebration with friends, a concert or down the pub. That is pure creative human spirit! If you have the urge to sing, to write a book, to take dance classes, act, or make something, then that is your heart and soul speaking to you. You will feel much better for listening and taking action.



I have heard many people utter the words ‘I wish I could do that but…’ The truth is, you can! The key to it is to just start and to embrace and dissolve those demons and voices that hold you back. And by embrace, I mean give those lost and cranky parts of you some love.

Here are some voices I have had in my head over the years. ‘I am not good enough’, ‘I am not talented enough’, ‘I will never be that good’, ‘I don’t have enough time’, ‘I have other commitments’, ‘I should be doing something else’, ‘I am not rich enough’, ‘there is no money in art’ and ‘what is the point!’. They all seem like valid arguments but the reality of squashing that creative urge or tingle down is not pleasant. It feels horrible. It feels like I am missing out on something. Here’s some suggestions for what to do if you have a hard time starting out.
  • Try out something when you have the urge, however small and humble your beginnings. It may be one line of verse, a haiku, a doodle or a dance step. Just try it for five minutes. No more. 
  • It is better to try something every day for five minutes in order to build up a habit than not at all. You will begin to create an energy of wanting to do more. 
  • Everything you enjoy has been created by someone or something! Creativity is the base code of the entire Universe.
  • Keep it simple at first. Simple ideas, simple tools. Just enjoy the moment.
  • Look at life in front of you. Use your senses. See the colours and textures. Hear the sounds. Feel the wind and smell the smells. That is where inspiration comes from. 
  • Get silly, get inventive. I once worked at a creative retreat where a woman was fascinated by a crack in the concrete. She followed her artistic urge and painted that crack loads of times. She loved it! 
  • Try to let go of judgement and your inner critic. Be kind to that voice. Say ‘thank you dear crazy voice but even though you think this is rubbish or stupid, I am going to do it anyway just to see what happens. Don’t worry, all will be well.’ 
  • Don’t compare yourself! You are UNIQUE! There is nothing compared to you or to what you will create! 
  • Love the process but don’t worry about the result. The more you do, the more the work will develop. 
  • Get risky and juicy. Be daring. Write, paint, dance whatever you feel, whatever you want to say, however crazy, dark, edgy or risqué.
  • Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to move you, it tends to flow once you get started. 
  • Great art doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in small increments, step by step. Day by day. 
  • You are allowed to create and dream and imagine. 
  • You are allowed to be an artist and create whatever you want to create! 
  • If you just got the best idea then go with the flow! That feeling that comes with a great idea is your heart and soul saying yes, yes, yes!
  • If you really want to dive deep with any art, have a look at 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron.
  • If you really want to learn to draw have a look at 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' by Betty Edwards.
  • If you really want to write have a look at 'Writing Down the Bones' by Natalie Goldberg. 
If you have any other great tips for getting into the creative flow, please leave them in the comments below.

Good luck and good creating. Let the music out dear friends!

Love, love, love...

Matt Rivers

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Saturday, 6 February 2016

Create February Fabulous! - The Wealthy Life

Day 6

11 Suggestions for Abundance Consciousness 

Life is literally bursting with abundance. It is flowing from every corner of time and space and if we notice it then we take part. Each orange tree produces a plethora of leaves and a bounty of oranges. There are millions of orange trees on this planet and billions of oranges! Then there are myriad other plants, vegetables, species, animals and insects. That is just the stuff that lives on top of our beloved Earth.


Check out the grains of sand, the molecules of breathable air, the amount of life-giving sunshine that reaches us. We are in the midst of a reality so fantastical, it is laughable to think that we feel that we are lost, lonely and poor. We couldn’t be further from the truth. That is why it feels so weird and wrong when we contemplate such limiting beliefs. Our emotions are literally screaming at us that our thinking is not up to speed with reality. That is why sadness and desperation and despair hurt, because they are telling us we are in the wrong place in our minds.

This life is wealthy beyond belief. This life is filled with endless abundance and opportunities yet we have to switch on to them. We have to lift our eyes from our pain and shift our perspective. No longer should we continue to bang on about how shit things are because life emanates from the core of us. The 'shit' is created by how we perceive life to be. The more shit we see… the more shit we get. That is the basic law of karma, or resonance or attraction. It all has the same name. See shit, get shit; see love, get love. Very simple, very basic yet we have grand and strange structures of thought living in our heads, put there by generations of souls before us, by skewed education systems and archaic religions.

We can empower ourselves and let go of those old patterns. There is no point waging a war against old things, they are what brought us here but we can choose to let them go and move forward into a new paradigm of thinking and being. It doesn’t take much. Just a little adjustment here and there.
  1.  Breathe – Calm your body and mind down with the most effective stress management tool you have. Your breath is directly linked to your autonomic nervous system and when you consciously step in to slow it down, your body begins to relax and your heart beat is reduced which will send calming signals to your brain. A ton of information flows from the heart to the brain all based upon your rate and depth of breath.
  2. Be present – Use your senses to feel your current reality, smell the air, look at the shapes of things, the colour, the textures, listen to the sounds around you, feel the wind, the floor, the temperature. But more, be present with your emotions and thoughts. Don’t try and fix or push your emotions away. Just sense them in the body and breath into where any tension lies.
  3. Sit – Learn to sit and watch. Watch your breath. Watch your thoughts. Watch life come and go. Watch how nature just flows. Watch yourself and how you are connected to everything. Allow yourself to just be, no distractions, no media, no activity, no television. 
  4. Let go – Let go of judgement, especially of yourself. Let go of the need to fix everything. Let go of the worry about tomorrow. Let go of the pain of the past. Let go of the anger. Let go of the need to do something with your emotions. Let go of blame. Let go of criticism. Let go of ideas of lack. Relax. Breathing helps with this.
  5. Meditate – Find the silence often. Especially when you catch yourself judging, criticising, or focusing on shit that pisses you off. Use all of the above to help find that silence in between thoughts. Don’t try and stop thinking, just start breathing, being present, sitting, watching and letting go. 
  6. Appreciate – Look at what works in your life. Find joy in the moments you have, in the blessings and support that surround you. Find things in your life to feel good about. Friends, family, sunshine, drinking water, children, lovers, material blessings. All are things to appreciate. Even if it is just one thing, search for it, hold it close.
  7. Fan the Flames – Make good feelings bigger. When you feel great, take note, explore it. Notice your thoughts. Remember it. Revel in those good feelings. Just because the world is full of things that are unpleasant it is not a good enough reason to not find things that feel great in this world. There is far more good than bad anyway. That doesn’t mean we should ignore problems, but rather, it means we begin to frame things differently and bring a different energy to problems so that we become solution orientated, able to find the gift in each moment.
  8. Imagine – Use your greatest gift. Imagine solutions. Imagine well-being. Allow yourself to play again and imagine what you want in your life. Feel the changes in how you feel. Imagine your dreams come true. Imagine the person you would be when your dreams are alive. Imagine your joy, imagine your peace, your creativity, your light, your wealth, your health. Imagine what you would give and do for others. 
  9. Trust – Your desires lead you directly to your purpose. Trust your heart. Trust that you are worthy. Trust that you are loved by so much more than you know or can see. Trust that well-being flows to everything. Trust that nature thrives and wants you to thrive. Trust that you are a powerful creator and your thoughts become your perceptions and beliefs and create your life. Trust in the power of your heart and what it truly loves - that spine-tingling, unity creating, present moment, deep breath flowing passion. Trust that when you feel it. 
  10. Act – Sometimes you have to start in order to kick-start the flow of passion. Take baby-steps toward your dream or desire. If you don’t know what your dreams, passions or desires are, then act as if you do. Move toward clarity. Find a way to start acting as if the answers are there. Do what you need to in order to move one step closer to your visions, abundance and dreams, however humble or small the step is. Show up every day. 
  11. Have fun – Most importantly, life is not a big serious thing. It is for loving and playing. Forget about the whole growing up thing. You are allowed to play. You are allowed to have fun. You are allowed to express love as loudly and as raucously as you want. Play, love, and have fun, even if for just one moment!
Experiment with this, see where it leads. See if you begin to feel better, more connected, more abundant with health, energy, life, ideas, love and wealth.

Love, love, love...

Matt Rivers

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Friday, 5 February 2016

Create February Fabulous! - The Darkness: Side Two

Day 4 and 5

The creative challenge continues. It is less challenging now and is turning into something I am very eager to partake in every day. I originally started this because I used to procrastinate massively. I love creating things but I always found an excuse not to do it. I came up with this project to see what would happen if I was accountable only to myself. Then I decided it might be a grand idea to share it. 

Sharing it is proving rather beneficial because I can see how other people create and that in itself is massively inspiring. For myself, I am uncovering some truths that I hope will in turn inspire other people to begin a creative habit of their own. I believe humans are meant to create and when we do, we tend to feel and act much better.

So here is Day 4 and 5. I have found myself returning to my main weapon of choice... words. The poems seem to be reflecting my burgeoning interest in my creativity. I don't spend overly long on each one. Perhaps 30 minutes. I like these short bursts of creativity. I like being kind to myself rather than critical and judgemental. Art needs love and nurturing, that is for sure.




The Shadow Light

Inside ourselves two halves are true
Living back to back
Without them both creates not you
A faded sense of lack


We push and shove one side right down
Pretend that it's not there
And when our faces start to frown
We say we just don't care


The shadow sits inside of us
Protects us from the rain
But when it starts to moan and fuss
We stamp and curse the pain


We blame the clouds, our mum and dad
We swallow all our fears
We point at all that we think bad
And struggle with our tears


But here's the thing, that dark inside
Is actually our friend
The shadow of our self it rides
A mirror to us sends


It shows us where our thinking stuck
It triggers us to deal
The shit we face is just good luck
Another chance to feel


So if you meet your darker side
Today then dance with glee
Embrace it with your arms spread wide
Just listen, look and see


Allow it to flow freely through
It may be fast or loud
The darkness is just cleaning you
Passing like a cloud


Just sit and be and breath and smile
Don't swallow, swear or fight
The storm will pass in just a while
Like day transforming night.


Matt Rivers
4th February 2016





 The Warrior

From humble tales, a boy once grew,
Small of frame, with eyes pale blue.
His hair like straw, reflecting light,
Gleaming sun in the dead of night.

His heart was full and bright with love
With wings so soft and light as doves.
Great plans he had and dreams of gold,
Adventures planned and journeys bold.

But grow he did as seasons passed.
The light inside, it did not last.
He drew into a place of gloom,
Where monsters roamed and sang of doom.

Here he learned to fight and dance,
To stand his ground and take a chance.
He tried to break the monster’s trap
But the beast was strong and kept him back.

Until one day he met a man
Whose light was fire inside his hands.
His skin so dark and eyes so pale,
Wise words he spun into a tale.

The monster that you fight so hard
Lives within your mind my child.
When you fight you give him power,
Forever over you he’ll tower.

Instead approach him softly slow,
Your heart stretched wide with all you know.
Embrace that many coloured beast,
For all he needs is gentle peace.

He stood and all at once could see
Just how life was meant to be.
He took the monster in his arms
And spoke brave words of love and calm.

Just then the sun through clouds did crack
His light and plans came rushing back.
But now the wild inside him thrived,
An infinite sea of dreams they dived.

Matt Rivers
5th February 2016



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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!