Our sense of smell is probably one of the most overlooked and undervalued - until we don't have it any more. We all know how it feels to be congested and not able to smell anything (which is, oddly enough, exactly how I'm feeling as I write this). Everything seems flatter, and farther removed than usual. Our sense of smell adds texture to the world, giving us a more subtle sense of our surroundings
Years ago I read the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. In it, she made two lists of statements, of truths, that she lived by. She called them the "Twelve Commandments" and the "Secrets of Adulthood." They contained things like, "Be Gretchen", "Enjoy the process", and "Bring a sweater." These lists felt really important to me, so ever since then, I've been compiling my own lists of learnings to remind myself of what works in life, and what doesn't.
instead of sharing my plan for what I hope to accomplish this year, I'm sharing my creative values with you. The things that are important to me and that will hopefully shape my decisions when I'm trying to divide up my time. These are things that I want more of and though it seems impossible that I could ever have all of them, I'm willing to try. Because when it comes to creativity, we can't always tell it what to do. We can make space for it, and guide it and hope that it comes along for the ride.
One of my favourite parts of December is taking time to look back over the year and celebrate everything that happened. It's something I only started doing in the last couple of years and I find that it is so worth it. I usually make a list of all my favourite memories and moments, and the accomplishments that I'm especially proud of. Then I think about what I want more of for the coming year, and start working on a plan.This year part of the recap involves looking at the creative projects that I undertook and appreciating everything that I made this year.
My art room looks like an angry Christmas elf tore through it. The floor is covered in scraps of paper and assorted pieces of gift wrap, and both my desk and my craft table are overflowing with glue, tape, paint, stamps, ribbons, bobbles, and other materials. Why so much chaos? Because I went a little crazy making Christmas gift wrap and wrapping gifts.The mess was definitely worth it though, since I was able to make so much fun stuff. I made four different types of wrapping paper, some bows, and some gift tags.
In some ways, sight is the easiest sense to work on, since it's the one we use the most anyway. According to Psychology Today, more than half the body's sense receptors are in the eyes. But how much of your surroundings do you really see on a daily basis? If you follow the same routine every day, you probably have long since stopped noticing the buildings you pass, or the way the sky looks - unless something is drastically different. What if you could train yourself to look at the same old things with fresh eyes, seeing something new every day?
I stumbled on Shawna's blog a few years ago and have been turning to it ever since as a source of inspiration and peace. Her soft photos and gentle words often soothe my agitated mind and leave me feeling refreshed.
To me having a space that inspires creativity is half the battle (okay, maybe a third of the battle, along with making time and overcoming my inner critic). In all the homes I've lived in, I've tried to have such a space, though it's not always easy. Sometimes I need to carve out space in a multi-functional room, and sometimes I need to work in less than ideal conditions. But I use what I have and always make sure that I have at least a small area dedicated to art making. Then I try to make it better, any way that I can. The more comfortable and content I feel, the easier it is to create the magic that I'm looking for.
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend, Matt, and I celebrated my birthday with a staycation in our own city. We spent two nights in a hotel, wandered around the neighbourhood, and went out dancing. Friday night we were as excited as we would be for a real vacation, and Sunday I felt relaxed and content, if reluctant to leave our giant hotel bed and amazing view. The joy of staycationning in your own city is that you can do it any time, without any of the hassle (and a lot of the expense) of going out of town, but it still gives that feeling that something special is happening.
Elizabeth Gilbert knows a lot about creativity. She makes a living as a writer so it's something that she grapples with daily but she's also given Ted Talks on the subject, discussed it in plenty of interviews and on her Facebook page, and now she's written a book about it. Like me, my mom is a big fan of Gilbert so when I told her that the book Big Magic was coming out on a certain day, she went out after work on that day, bought two copies, came straight to my place and gave me one of them. It made my week. I've now read the book twice, the second time going through with pink, blue, and yellow highlighters (because they match the cover of the book) to pick out what I think are the juiciest bits of wisdom.
