The Path of Creativity

Creating has been a huge part of my growth, healing and fulfillment. I have always been pulled to do creative things, but it took me a long time to embrace that part of myself.

A few months after becoming a mother, my late husband, Chris, gave me a copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron for Mother's Day. About that same time, I discovered another wonderful book called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Both of these books opened a door for me.

Motherhood was making me realize that it's really important how you show up. I was realizing that fulfillment matters because it wasn't just impacting me anymore. This was the earliest stage of my awakening. Some much harder things were on the horizon, and it seemed a cruel irony that I started realizing how important it was for me to find myself, my joy, my fulfillment at a time when I was most tired, overwhelmed, and spread thin. However, the struggle was making me more open to the message.

Julia Cameron helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in feeling creatively blocked, and that it was absolutely possible to awaken that part of myself. She also gave me tools I still use.

Sarah Ban Breathnach planted the tiny seed of an idea: that gratitude and self-nurture could transform my life. Both of these books introduced me to the concept that there might be something truly wonderful, unique, and beautiful inside of me. I had a lot of inner criticism and mental garbage to wade through at the time, but I had a tiny glimmer of hope that pulled me forward towards discovering what those gifts might be.

It took me a while to get over myself enough to be a beginner.  I heard someone say last week, “the pain pushes until the vision pulls” and that absolutely describes my experience. The pain of not allowing myself to express creatively kept pushing me forward.

It pushed me into classes and to craft fairs. It pushed me set up a studio, carve out time in my life, unplug from drama and tend to my inner artist. I was pretty stubborn, and there was a lot of resistance to jack hammer through, but then the vision started to pull me into my creativity. It started to feel necessary, like dinner.

The path of creativity ran parallel with my awakening intuition. One of the reasons that I was so captivated by the Tarot was that the archetypal themes went right to my creative center. They stirred my imagination into action in a positive way. I was very good at using my imagination to generate worry, but now I had a productive outlet for this energy, and beautiful things started to come forth. I learned that expressing myself creatively was healing.

I had the wonderful experience this weekend of indulging in a workshop with Suzi Baum, my neighbor, friend, and all around Renaissance woman. Sitting with a group of women writing, doodling, and sharing really fed my spirit. We did these things just to see what would emerge.

There was no agenda, just exploration, and it occurred to me that this is the heart of creativity - to explore oneself and make what you find visible to others in some way.

Even though my path has involved literally picking up a paintbrush (or pen) and expressing in that sense I believe that we are all creative. Perhaps you love to cook, garden, or write. Maybe you love sewing, knitting, or decorating. You might enjoy the art of golf or creating a meaningful yoga practice. Your business can even be a creative outlet with endless possibilities.

Whatever you are doing, you are creating the life you are living. You are creating the quality of your days, the connection in your relationships, the essence of every moment you spend. I believe that these moments are opportunities to allow our inner riches to come forth. Whatever you are doing to give voice to your soul is worthwhile. It doesn’t have to have an obvious purpose. If it lights you up in some way, it’s a beautiful thing. xo

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never be seen. ” - Robert Bresson