I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. Frida Kahlo
I am channeling my inner Frida Kahlo this week. Before I begin, let me make a couple of things clear.
I am not comparing my short-term minor back injury to Fridas long-term chronic injuries and horrific pain.
I am not comparing my writing to her incredible art.
However a comment that a friend made last night on yesterday’s blog post got me to thinking.
My friend wrote: “Your physical and emotional body pushes you to write the best things. When you stop babe fuck you create awesomeness.”
Since I decided to accept that I was basically bed and couch bound for a time, and stop stressing over all of the things that I wasn’t able to do this week, my creative juices have gone into overdrive and a whole lot of ideas and delicious creativity has sprung forth.
So – why is it so? (Imagine Julius Sumner Miller voiceover here)
I have some theories.
We are all so busy busy busy busy. And if we aren’t busy being busy, we are filling our minds and our times with so many distractions that we rarely get a second to even consider, let alone tap into our creative side. I wrote about our connection addiction here a few weeks back. TV, an ever-growing plethora of social media, emails, apps, notifications and the list goes on and on.
Creativity is such an important aspect of our human experience and too many of us are stifling it, either willingly or unwillingly. Mostly we have forgotten how to access that part of ourselves but on a deep soul level, we are craving it.
Why do you think that adult colouring books are currently taking 5 of the top 10 positions on the New York Times Bestseller list? How long since you had even thought about colouring in as an adult activity prior to this recent trend?
When and where do your best ideas come to you? For me it is usually in the shower, and I know I am not alone here. Let’s consider why that might be for a moment. We are screen and noise free, apart from being alone with the water, the cleansing process and our thoughts. Sometimes I think that a pen in the shower would be a handy addition to capture those moments of brilliance.
Others have their best ideas suddenly at 3am. Again, consider for a moment why this is. Kikki K even have a 3am ideas book specifically for that purpose. Grab those ideas while they are fresh and get them down on paper!
Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly? Frida Kahlo
I think we all need to tap into and utilise our creativity every single day even in a small way if we can. It can be as simple as moulding play doh or colouring in, or as complex as writing, drawing or painting. (As an aside the same friend mentioned above called me an artist the other day, as I love writing, something I had never considered before, so I now proudly claim the title of artist) Creativity can be accessed while gardening, home decorating, cooking, wrapping gifts, the possibilities are limitless. It can also be a 5-minute pursuit, or as long as you feel inclined.
Once you are in flow, and really enjoying the process, it is likely time will disappear anyway and before you know it, you have been creative for longer than you expected. As an added bonus, when you are in flow you are releasing dopamine, a feel good chemical, so you will feel even better all round, not to mention having created something of beauty and that fabulous sense of completion once you have finished.
So I challenge you to consider what is one small thing you can do to access your creative side?
Can you take just 5 minutes tonight, put aside your devices and play with your inner artist?
It will be fun – I promise!
