The Question
How are your nurturing your creativity?
The Intention
Restoration
The Meditative Moment
Recently I was discussing creativity with a group of women. One asked, “When have you been most creative?” Each one of us answered that a point of crisis gave us the most room to create. It doesn’t always work like that. After my uncle Shaun’s suicide, it took me a long time to return to writing. But that was the time when I picked up needle, thread, and fabric to start quilting. Instead of taking comfort in words, I needed to sew pieces of fabric together. I didn’t think of this as creativity; I thought of it as survival. Perhaps they really are one and the same. When we are in crisis—and grieving and anxiety can push us there—creativity can seem a luxury. We don’t think we have the brainpower, let alone physical strength, to be creative. Maybe that’s the time to fill our cup. To borrow a suggestion from Julia Cameron, find some time to take yourself on a creative date. Visit a museum. Go to the coffee shop to write. Watch a documentary about an artist. Listen to your favorite album with headphones while sitting on a park bench. Watch this short video of Maurice Sendak. Go to the bookstore and pick up a book in a section you very rarely check out. Prowl around the yarn or fabric store. Notice what sparks.
Originally sent September 27, 2023, to paid Substack subscribers. If you want to receive current Thin Space reflections, you can start a paid subscription here: https://laurenlmurphy.substack.com. You can choose to pay $75/year or $8/month.
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