Get Ready For Spring Cleaning
February 29, 2008
by Eric Brown
Spring is the time of new growth, birth and rebirth, hope and promise. Just like spring cleaning, it’s a great time to clear away creative clutter. Every creative type out there hits blocks of some sort. Whether it’s a true creative block or just the pressures of everyday life that stymie your creative juices, it’s time to clear out the clutter that can cause it.
It’s easy in the fast paced world we live in to get caught up in the doldrums of everyday life and have your passion placed on the back burner. I know it happens to me frequently. So what do you do about it?
I have a few tried and true methods that work great for me.
1. Meditation
Meditation is one of the most highly regarded forms of creative enlightenment. Going back thousands of years, people have meditated to gain insight, deal with grief, and cleanse one’s soul.
Meditation comes in a variety of forms, from relaxing to ambient music to guided meditations.
It allows one to self-examine, reflect, and cope with daily life. Many use meditation as a vehicle for growth of the soul. All of these things lead to greater creative freedom. If you don’t know how to meditate, get some CDs, a book, or just sit quietly for 15 minutes. Zen Habits has a good guide if you want to learn more.
2. Write
Even if you are not a writer, write every day. Get up an hour earlier (it’s not as hard as people make it out to be) and write for one hour, uninterrupted. It doesn’t matter what you write. It can be stream of consciousness, an ongoing story or just what you need to get done that day. Just like meditation is proved to cleanse the soul, so writing is proven to cleanse the mind.
In The Artist’s Way, (a book about finding your creative path), Julia Cameron, an award-winning journalist and writer, writes, “A lasting creative awakening requires the consistent use of…,” what she calls, “…the Morning Pages.” Learn how to become a morning writer…
3. Have Fun
If you’re not enjoying at least part of your life, then how do you expect to be creative in it? Set aside a night every week to have fun. Take that time to do whatever you want. Spend time with loved ones, go to a movie, treat yourself to a sinful desert. The idea is to forget the stress of life for a while.
Cameron describes this as, “The Artist Date.” She recommends that you take at least 2 hours a week set aside to nurture your creative consciousness. This is time for you to open up and be receptive to new experiences and the enjoyment inherent therein. Get some ideas in the article 75 simple pleasures and fun things.
So there you go; three things you can start doing today to spring clean your creativity closet. Get cleaning!
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