I’ve just returned from Campbell Folk School where my mom and I spent a week together, both of us filling our days with glorious creative endeavors.
My mom immersed herself in watercolor painting while I made art dolls. Mixed Media Artist Dayle Doroshow was my teacher; she led us in using polymer clay and other media to fabricate tiny beings.
One of the many gifts my mom has given me is her love of art. A long-time quilter and an intermittent painter, she has taught me through example to make time for personal expression and has encouraged me to explore my creativity. This gift has been essential, really, for navigating the more challenging emotional periods of my life.
I feel it’s so important for all of us to realize that we are – each one of us – naturally creative. It’s our birthright to come into this world with the means through which we can express creatively the unique gifts we possess. Our culture enjoys intellectualizing our experience and often belittles the importance of being able to access the fullness that is available through other expressions – music, dance, painting, poetry.
What’s been important for me is to discover that what I would previously have considered a ‘down’ or depressed time is really a call by my body-mind asking me to go inward, encouraging me to get quiet -- to journal, to pray or contemplate and to create.
When I don’t dive in and participate in the “involution” of my life, I experience being stuck in the spinning of my mind around how to move forward and I become increasingly frustrated with myself.
The action step I’ve learned to take during these times is to connect with my body, get in touch with my feelings and then express them in some creative way. This involution is what propels me forward to a fresh perspective on life. What comes through me connects me more deeply to my authentic self and assists me in remembering the truth.
I write this, of course, encouraging each of you to create – not just when you’re called inward, but often, so that you can hold a fresh perspective and a close connection to your inner world.
Much gratitude to the artists, to my mom and to the creative experience that calls us to stay present to ourselves.
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