I will not die an unlived life. I will not
live in fear of falling or catching fire. I
choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living
to open me, to make me less afraid, more
accessible, to loosen my heart until it
becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose
to risk my significance; to live so that
which comes to me as seed goes to the next as
blossom and that which comes to me as
blossom, goes on as fruit.
[ Dawna Markova ]
"I will not die an unlived life." I
find myself thinking of these words often as
I am making choices for myself, for my
business, or for our family. Those seven
little words help me to
take risks, to get outside of myself, so I can
live to my fullest creative potential.
Here's the thing: I want my personal
masterpiece, my ultimate
creative act, to be the way in which I live
my life.
I fail at this all the time. Every day I wake
up and I try
again, moving one foot in front of the other,
because some days I am really good at
infusing my actual moment-to-moment
living with creativity.
Being present, paying
attention, making connections, not just going
through the motions, using my gifts for good,
living with my eyes and heart open - all
these things are how I strive to live.
They aren't easy.
But they do get easier over time. It becomes
more natural to slow down and pay attention,
to listen, to embrace the processes. Living
this way feels
good. It is empowering and fulfilling and
makes me feel very, very thankful.
At the end of each day, as I reflect back on my
successes and challenges, I hope that I have
"used up" my creative allotment for that day.
I hope that I have "spent" myself and given
all I could to the pursuit of a full, rich,
creative life.
Here are some of the ways I work on living
creatively:
[ 1. ] Focus on the process. I want to
not just be focused on my final output, but
the actual processes themselves - how I
get from one place to the next. I am
developing an awareness of the actions I
take and the choices I am make as part of
the overall process of
my life. Every creative endeavor includes a
process - a series of steps we go through
from beginning to end. I don't want to miss
the lessons that present themselves in the
midst of the process. What is your
personal process? I don't just mean the steps
you go through to create a layout or knit a
scarf, but your everyday process of looking
at your life. Is your process open + flowing
or tight + narrow? There's no right or wrong,
simply an awareness.
[ 2. ] Seek opportunities.
Opportunities to be creative are in front of
me all the time. I am not only being
creative when I are making crafts or
painting or scrapbooking (traditionally
creative things), but when I choose how
to approach challenges, how to parent my
child, how to feed my family, how to
organize my garage, etc. How can you find
new opportunities outside of your regular
routine? Challenge yourself to seek a new
opportunity this week.
[ 3. ] Be interested in the world.
People + places. Sights + sounds. Notice
things. Pay attention. I listen to the old
man in front of me in the grocery line tell
the checker the story of his day. I
observe the mother and child next to me at
the park speaking to each other in the
soul-filled language of mamas and babies. I
travel to experience different cultures,
always being open to what may come around the
next corner or through the next smile of the
person I pass by. I ask
questions. How do you demonstrate your
interest in the world? How does that
attention impact your creativity?
[ 4. ] Make connections. An offshoot
of being interested in the world around me,
making connections is about seeing one thing
in one location and another in a different
environment and connecting the two. I like to
bring those connections back into my art for
further investigation. Making connections is
also about the people you choose to have in
your world. Connect with those that support
your desire to live a rich creative
life.Are you living in a
way that allows you to be aware enough to
notice connections? Have you connected with
people locally who lift you up and encourage
you in your life?
[ 5. ] Make choices. Everyday I make
choices about my attitude when I wake up in
the morning. I make choices about how I feel
about what I create (and my own personal
fears related to creativity). I make choices
about how I spend my time. What I have
found is that even when I don't think I have
time to live creatively there are little
choices I can make each day that begin to
build on one another. Little choices start
melding together and eventually I find myself
thinking and feeling more creative. Be open
to the possibilities. How do your everyday
choices impact your creativity? If you want
to live a more creative life how can you make
different choices starting right now?
[ 6. ] Look for enrichment opportunities.
I am always on the lookout for things that
will stretch me, that will spark a new
interest, make me ask questions and then
search for answers. Take a class. Read a
book. Get out of the
house. Go for something
completely new and different that may be
outside your comfort zone. If you are a
scrapbooker pick up a book about sculpture or
sign up for a class at your local community
college about creative writing - do something
that engages your mind outside your everyday
routine.
Ask yourself how you can translate what you
learn into your scrapbooking process. I call
this continuing creative education.
Get together with friends where each of you
brings something to teach the others.How
do you continue your personal creative
education? What steps could you take to
enrich your daily life?
"I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my
living
to open me, to make me less afraid, more
accessible, to loosen my heart until it
becomes a wing, a torch, a promise."
