I can remember sitting at the table, coloring with my mom and older sister when I was about five years old. I was intently focused on what I was creating with my crayons, content to be lost in the moment. Until I wasn’t.
I looked over at my mom’s picture and then my sister’s. I felt immediately discouraged. My picture looked nothing like the masterpieces they were creating. Although they tried to assure me that my picture was unique and wonderful, my five-year-old self wasn’t able to see it that way.
It was likely this experience, and many similar to it, where I decided I was not a good artist, I was not creative.
Fast forward to me being in my late thirties where I still believed that being creative means you are an artist: painting and drawing beautiful pictures. Very limiting, right?!
It’s a belief that I never explored or challenged until I began reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It was through the work of this book that my relationship to creativity began to shift and open up before me, blooming like a long dormant flower.
I learned that creativity and joy are inextricably linked. I don’t know that you can have one without the other. In my quest to expand my creativity, the bonus that I received was so much unexpected joy and contentment.
The more creativity I seek out, the more happiness and fulfillment I experience. And this doesn’t mean I’m painting and drawing—although sometimes I do join my daughters in making creations.
Shifting my relationship to creativity has allowed me to expand what creativity includes and see that it can be different for everyone. I have found creativity (and therefore joy) in writing, baking, walking in nature, sewing, creating homemade birthday cards, redecorating my house, playing the guitar, browsing through stores that inspire me, gardening, and much more.
There are no rules as to what is creative and what isn’t, as long as it lights you up.
When I take time to engage in something I truly enjoy, my day feels more purposeful and I feel happier. It’s an act of self-love to make time for oneself. Just the other day I had an extra 30 minutes in the morning between dropping my daughter at school and starting work.
Instead of doing dishes, laundry, or starting work early (which the hyper-achiever part of me longed to do), I chose to work on a sewing project I had on the go. My day felt so much longer, richer, and more productive! I even noticed I had more bandwidth to be with my family at the end of the day.
When we’re in the flow, fully immersed in an enjoyable activity, time seems to stretch. I believe this is the answer to getting off the hamster wheel of life, out of the mundane and the hustle. That this is what we are here for on this planet: to experience the myriad of human emotions, including joy—lots of it!
If you would like to rekindle your relationships with creativity and joy, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron or other books that expand your thinking about creativity and joy.
- Make a list of all the creative activities you love to do. Sort the list so that you have activities that take a short amount of time to those that require more of an investment. When you have extra moments in your day, choose something off the list to do.
- Instead of waiting for extra time, begin to schedule creative time into your week. Even 30 minutes is a great start.
- Continue to add to your list. One excellent way to do this is to try new things, especially those that you may have previously written off as being outside your comfort zone or not for you—you might be surprised.
Although I still experience the big and small challenges of this roller coaster called life, I now feel I have a light that burns brightly deep within me to see me through the tougher times. This light is the joy and fulfillment I have cultivated through my creative pursuits.
My wish is that you find pockets of joy, big and small, in your own life, leaving you with an overall sense of happiness, peace, and satisfaction.
