Rushing. I have been recently reading the book, “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. In this book she helps people move beyond their blocks to either discover or rediscover their creativity. It gives the opportunity for some good self-reflection.I often find an overwhelming sense of rushing present. I have many things on my “to-do” list and even creative things are on it, but my tendency is to push those things – the things I enjoy most, aside – waiting to do them as my reward for fulfilling my “to-do” list. I never get that list completely done. Do you?
The truth is, by putting the thing we desire most to do first, we lose that sense of rushing and in fact are taking care of a very important need for ourselves. Creativity is not an elective, but a required part of our lives if we are to live in balance, happiness, and fulfillment. When we do fill ourselves up with the joy of creativity, everything gets done anyway and we are giving to the world and the people around us the best of ourselves – our deep and sacred purpose. It heals us (by calming our nervous system).
With creativity, we more easily problem solve, as we use more of our brain. We often enlist only the rational, number crunching part of the brain to solve a problem, resulting in us trying the same solutions over and over again, with little fresh success. The creative side of us ties into the subconscious, which is working twenty-four hours a day problem solving for us. Creativity provides an outlet for the subconscious to be heard. The solutions coming from the creative tend to be very different from that of the rational mind, yet very insightful.
Creativity comes in many forms. It is not just writing or painting, any of the following, but not limited to: cooking, sewing, walking in nature, archery, crafting of any kind, gardening, playing an instrument, writing music, singing….You get the idea. What do you like? What is your reward for getting your “stuff” done?
Put it first. That is putting yourself first. When we put ourselves first we are healthier, happier, our relationships flourish and we are sharing our best with the world. So, lets create!!
