OCTOBER’S THEME IS DESIGN.

We live in a world of design, an intention behind every encounter, every technology we touch, every structure we step through. Design is an alchemy, a marriage of material and meaning, investigation and inspiration, form and function.

To design is to create — out of nothing, something. To design is to play — an invitation to stay open and curious and reimagine in new ways. To design is to think — a method of learning through making, scraping failed experiments for fresh insight. To design is to be human.

Designers are called to operate in a way that transcends disciplines, making it possible to understand the world in all its complexity and envision passageways to more just futures. At their best, designers center the experiences of people whose needs have been overlooked, stepping outside of themselves and into their shoes. Design asks of us empathy and humility, if we are brave enough to answer.

Our Trois-Rivières chapter chose this month’s exploration of Design, Olivier Charland illustrated the theme, and Skillshare is presenting the theme.

SEPTEMBER’S THEME IS DARE.

To dare is an act of faith. We work up the nerve to make the soaring leap, even when we don’t know what the outcome will be. At the core of daring, you’ll find bravery and defiance entwined. We dare to challenge the stories passed down to us that no longer fit, the stories that limit our imagination.

As we shed the stories that no longer serve us, but a way forward seems uncertain, how can we summon the courage to do impossible things? In The Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnit invites us, “Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.” The door is open. Do you dare step through?

CreativeMornings/Porto Alegre chose September’s theme of Dare and Mitti Mendonça illustrated the theme.

AUGUST’S THEME IS RELEASE.

Inhale. Exhale. Release. Let the breeze roll over you, let the water flow languid, feel the tautness behind your eyes go slack. Release is a universal law—every build-up of tension must give way. Everything from the flowers to the trees need to do it to survive.

Release is a critical part of growth, healing, and transformation. We can release each other from our claims. We can be the means of each others’ deliverance. It’s what gives the words “I release you” their power.

What happens when we let go of emotions, expectations, habits, relationships, or thoughts that no longer serve us? What do we release in ourselves? What do we let loose into the world?

CreativeMornings/Portsmouth chose August’s theme of Release and Allie Runnion illustrated the theme.

#CMhome

JULY’S THEME IS HOME.

You can spend a lifetime looking for a sense of home. Sometimes we must leave our home in order to find it. In his poem “Journey Home,” Rabindranath Tagore writes, “The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own.”

Home can be a place we belong, home can be found among people we love, home can be carried with you wherever you go. Home can be formed by people creating together.

Home is a direction we’re tilted towards. Home is something we have to remake again and again. What home have you built for yourself? What can we do to build a home for each other?

CreativeMornings/Kansas City chapter chose July’s Home theme, and Allison Kerek Williams created the accompanying illustration.

#CMmatriarchy

JUNE’S THEME IS MATRIARCHY

Imagine a society in which women make all the key decisions that shape the safety, health, education, opportunities, and culture of the community. What would your town or city look like if the systems and structures were re-envisioned and women held the majority of the positions of power and leadership? What would change? What would it feel like? Or maybe you already live in such an environment; societies led by powerful women exist today, including Native and Indigenous communities around the world.

This month, we shine a light on all the leaders who are also women, from across the vast spectrum of identities and experiences of womanhood. The decision-makers, the life-givers, the caregivers, the frontline workers, the problem-solvers, the world-changers. The organizers and activists, the artists and writers and innovators. The teachers, scientists, medical professionals, politicians, business owners. The ones with megaphones and the ones working behind-the-scenes. Without you, where would our world be?

CreativeMornings/Rotterdam chose June’s Matriarchy theme, and Xaviera Altena created the accompanying illustration.

#CMresilient

MAY’S THEME IS RESILIENT

To be resilient is to be adaptable. It’s a way of being that’s flexible and alive, bouncing with the stuff of survival: learning, evolving, and intertwining our roots to share resources and to create a strong anchor of collective care. Like trees in a storm, it means swaying instead of snapping.

Persevering in the face of hardship and heartbreak is not easy, to say the least. “I think of resilience as the strength and speed of our response to adversity,” says Adam Grant, psychologist and co-author of Option B, a book about resilience. To heal, to grieve, to bend but not break? It requires time and dedication to build these muscles of resilience. “It’s a skill set we work on throughout our lives.”

Whether for your life, community, or planet, consider this:

What can you do today to help build strength and ease for the future?

CreativeMornings/Dallas chose May’s Resilient theme, and Niki Dionne made the accompanying illustration.

#CMprocrastinate

APRIL’S THEME IS PROCRASTINATE

The things that we perpetually push to tomorrow’s to-do list can become a mental weight. Even though we know the welcome relief that will wash over us when that thing we’re avoiding is complete, still, we delay, just a little while longer.

Procrastination can be a sort of art form: the art of deferred action. It’s a technique that’s got a bad reputation, one often tinged with shame. But it can also be a way to claim the ways you wish to your time. It harbors creative possibilities, too.

In that game of waiting-waiting-waiting until it’s almost too late but not quite, a coiled spring of potential energy hides, ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice. Narrowing a timeline can be a fruitful creative constraint, an exercise in trusting the unknown. When a window of opportunity shrinks, improvisation and spontaneity might unfurl like a flower in a time-lapse video blooming at super speed, a confetti cannon of petals bursting in full color.

Our Turin chapter chose this month’s exploration of Procrastinate and Elisa Talentino illustrated it.

MARCH’S THEME IS RIPPLE

Everything you do has the power to create its own ripple effect. Like an object breaking the water’s surface, our actions can cause a series of ever-expanding waves of impact stretching far beyond our individual reach.

Whether we theorize it with dominos, snowballs, or butterflies – it’s about momentum, and as momentum builds, even the smallest actions can end up having a profound impact.

One voice can inspire a movement, a single act of kindness can save a life. No matter how minuscule it may seem in the moment, what you do matters.

This month, we invite you to pay attention to your personal ripple effect. To examine how your impact expands beyond your inner circle and find ways to pay positivity forward. If you’re feeling brave, this month can be a time to explore the depths of your world. Dare to plunge below the surface and invite deeper connection in.

Our Tel Aviv chapter chose this month’s exploration of Ripple and Masha Manapov illustrated it.

FEBRUARY’S THEME IS DIVERGENT

Technologist, author, and designer John Maeda explains, “A divergent thinker takes an idea and expands it. They look for new ways to connect it with other diverse things […] I’m in favor of a synthesis to connect the convergent and divergent.”

As creators, builders, and thinkers, how can we get better at solving complex problems? A promising starting point is for us to be in the same spaces with those we’ve traditionally deemed different.

Moments of divergence can create beautiful futures when we are willing to leave space for change. Take a step back to reflect on what winds of change you want to welcome into your life today.

Our Valencia chapter chose this month’s exploration of Divergent and Núria Tamarit illustrated it. It is presented Globally by Basecamp and HEY.

JANUARY’S THEME IS PROMISE

A promise is doing something “because I said I would.” Promises can come in all shades, depths, and forms: appointments, acts of kindness, creating and quitting habits, agreements, and resolutions. Thanks to life’s unpredictability, we make and break them all the time.

But what is the value and impact of being individuals of our word?

In the Albanian culture, the word “Besa” means a code of honor and faithfulness. It exceeds the meaning of merely keeping a promise, thus becoming mythologized in its divinity as a solemn oath.

Promises that are made and kept are exchanges of power

We invite you to make and keep one promise to yourself and one promise to others this year. When applied towards positive impact, even the smallest fulfilled promises can create meaningful ripples of change.

Our Tirana chapter chose this month’s exploration of Promise and the talented Jolin Matraku illustrated the theme.