It Only Takes A Smile

I am in the process of beginning week 4 out of the 12 week artist way program by Julia Cameron. One of the biggest homework exercises of the week is to not read. Initially I thought this could be doable, I won’t read books. But what else does this entail? I think the book was written before the advent of social media and emails. Where do I start and where do I stop? It’s not just tangible books, but books on audio, magazines, and I believe screen time. Although I cannot eliminate all of these this week, I can start to minimise them. With the extra time and side that would be spent inputting, I could begin to focus on outputs. Creative expressions or simply being present, without the go to entertainment . Maybe it would also be more rest and sleep.

What is being revealed so far on this artist way journey, almost 1/3rd of the way in is not one creative bang. It’s the daily process of trying to live more creatively through the clothes I wear, the music I listen to, how I choose to spend my weekends. There was this beautiful quote the writer Mark Nepo had said in an interview about initially wanting try to become this beautiful poet. His life was about the end result of becoming a poet. Now the older he gets its more about his life becoming a poem. For me doing the artist way,it isn’t just about becoming an artist. It’s about living a creative life everyday. Art and creativity is available to us all and can be for some a spiritual practice.

I had spoken to a colleague about creativity and spirituality recently. She said she was neither creative or spiritual. She then asked me, how are you creative? It was a basic question that I hadn’t thought about much until now.

The answers I gave her included the following forms of creative expression: journaling , writing, dancing, the clothes I wear, creating yoga routines, in the therapy room, developing playlists for my workouts and drives (and friends), choosing an intention for the day, or a particular quote. There are so many ways to be creative, people tend to forget. It’s how we choose to look at and welcome in the world. We can Pt attention in a creative manner.

Art is not reserved for the few, but us all. Why do we forget this? Being creative is play. It can exist at any age and for anybody.

How are you creative?

How can your life become a poem?