I’m just popping in for a quick minute to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I definitely count the blogging community as one of the many things that I am thankful for this year. You all are fantastic.
(Also, I am thankful for this cake that I baked this morning and I can’t wait to eat later!)
Best wishes.
I am of the belief that there are different levels of tired. At the bottom is the kind of tired that falls upon us after a poor night’s sleep or a particularly busy day. As you move up, the levels get more intense. There are levels that come when those sleepless nights have started to pile up, when life is hitting us extra hard, and when our health is poor. And, of course, there is level that one might reach when many of things collide.
Given that I’ve had chronic insomnia and poor sleep since puberty, I’m used to the low-grade levels of tired. I live in them. It’s my normal and I’ve made peace with that. Sometimes, though, my level rises and I know I need to permit myself some extra care and rest. Generally, it’s dealt with quickly and I return to my norm. But, lately, that hasn’t been working.
I am tired. Like, really tired.
My body is okay – better than okay, actually. Running still feels good. I don’t have any weird aches or pains, but as for my brain? Well, that’s a different story. I’ve been the kind of tired that I most feel in my head. I’ve been feeling scattered. I have trouble focusing on things. I’m quick to be irritated (okay, I may be quick to be irritated most of the time anyway). And, my creativity is waning.
This is all stuff I don’t like one bit. Nope. Not a fan of it at all.
This is also why I’ve only posted a few times over the last month. Such minimal blogging isn’t my norm and I know it won’t become my norm – but it may be one temporary part of giving myself a bit of much needed down time.
I know that one of the major causes of my current funk is my state of chronic busyness. I am always busy and my mind is always racing. I jump from a full day’s work to a workout to my second job to cooking meals to blogging to running errands to appointments to housework and so on – with little time to just stop and breathe. Some of this is absolutely necessary (work and more work) and some of it is self-induced (me trying to squeeze in the activities that actually bring me joy and satisfaction) and some of it is just, well, dumb (me believing that I always have to be multitasking – one project at a time is never good enough).
So, in light of all this, I’m trying a few things to take a little better care of myself, get my spark back, and clear my head. They include:
What I won’t change is finding small spaces for the things that already work to rejuvenate me – running, connecting with you all kind people, enjoying a nice meal with others. These things are keepers.
So, this is my plan, friends. I’m feeling optimistic about it and am hoping that it will help me get my mojo back (Yes – I did just say that. Give me a break, please, I’m tired!)
It occurred to me the other day that I’ve been at this blogging thing for a bit over a year now. I decided to take a few minutes to look through the content I’ve been putting up and to see which posts have been the most popular. Like any good blog-mom, all my posts are special to me, and it was interesting to see which ones seem to have most resonated with others.
Here, in no particular order, are the top contenders. Missed any of them? Click through the links to get caught up and see what they are all about.
photo credit: Patrick Hoesly via photopin cc
I don’t know if this happens to you, but I’ve noticed this neat cycle in my life involving creativity. I have even given it a name. I am calling it the Super-Incredible Reinforcing Loop of Creativity and Confidence!
What do you think?
Sometimes I’m a total cornball, but it’s kind of great, right?? Eh???
Okay, in all seriousness, let me explain what I’m talking about. It goes something like this:
I tentatively try something new. This something new is successful on some level (maybe it’s great, but at the bare minimum, I survive it intact). Feelings of wonder, amazement, euphoria, surprise, relief, and etcetera ensue from the successful venture. Emboldened by these feelings, I try something else new, this time maybe a bit less tentatively. And the loop starts again and again and again.
Sure, I’ve tried new things before, but what’s different right now is the way in which my creative mind is responding to it. I’m keenly aware that with each endeavor my confidence builds just a bit more, which in turn, triggers more creative sparkage and subsequently builds even more confidence.
It’s quite the little snowball of activity, I must say.
And, my creative side is showing up in interesting ways. I haven’t blogged about the more obvious manifestations of creative exploits lately (like my knitting) because I haven’t been doing so much of them, if I’m going to be honest. (I miss this activity and will get back to it in time, but for various life-related reasons, I’ve had to take a knitting hiatus.)
But other creative endeavors are flourishing.
There is my cooking mojo, for instance. I’ve been feeling much more inventive in the kitchen lately, heady with bravado, tossing strict recipes to the wayside and operating more organically, spontaneously, and fluidly as a result.
There is also my blogging/writing. Ideas have been popping up in my head left and right. The challenge for me right now is to organize them for filtering and action.
Then there’s my work. Moving into a new job where I’m being given space and encouragement to think, try, and just go out and do has been refreshing and welcomed.
There are other things, too. I’ve started a balcony garden, unleashing my creativity on the tasks of selecting seeds and planters, gathering ideas for growing methods and combinations of herbs and veggies to nurture. I’m thinking about running and workout training methods with a fresh perspective. I’m itching to refresh my wardrobe with some new infusions of color and style and having visions of ways to clean up and brighten up my living space.
It’s strikingly clear to me right now how much just simply surviving something that can be scary or intimidating can build new levels of confidence that filter in to so many parts of my life. I am by no means totally triumphant in all the things I’m attempting, but just getting through them without complete disaster striking is sometimes all I need to spur the next attempt, the next idea, and the next big (to me) thing. It’s one loop I don’t mind being stuck in.
A Note about This Feature: Why Wednesdays is a Move Eat Create weekly feature determined to turn the mid-week doldrums upside down and celebrate things I love to do and blog about. Currently, the focus is on creating and creativity.
I’m an introvert, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like feeling connected to others. I generally seek connections that are meaningful and serve a purpose – connections that provide opportunities for fun, joy, laughter, learning, growing, and so on.
photo credit: VinothChandar via photopin cc
I make connections in a variety of ways, but I often find that one method of connection that frequently makes itself apparent is through creativity. Something that I find truly exciting about these particular connections is that they cross over so many dimensions. I connect with people living and deceased (I’ll explain more – I’m not talking about séances, here!), people near and far, people young and old, people that I never would have imagined having anything in common with, and I owe it all to a shared sense of creative spirit.
I have connected through creativity in some of the obvious, physical ways – meeting people through a knitting class, a cooking demonstration, or the like – but through more subtle means, as well. The blogosphere is one fantastic means of this, as I’m sure many of you know. The practice of sharing one’s words and images on a blog is most definitely a creative act, and a rewarding one at that. Though I haven’t laid eyes on the writers of the blogs I follow and the readers of my own, I have made connections through shared stories, recipes, and pictures. Though I haven’t shaken your hand or shared a cup of coffee with you, regular readers of this blog likely know me better than those who share an office space with me for 40 hours a week.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised when I read another’s writing, feel touched by it, and then read more about the person to discover they are of a different generation, nationality, political affiliation, gender, and so on. It reminds me that (regardless of differences and perceived barriers) a mutual interest, an inspired spirit, and willingness to share them both can connect even the most opposite of individuals.
Some of the most interesting connections to me are those to the past – to those I never had an opportunity to know or communicate with
Eve by Rodin
directly, but to whom I feel connected through the creative products they have left behind. A great example of this occurred recently. I had the opportunity to visit the Detroit Institute of the Arts. As I wandered through the museum, I was moved by various pieces of art. One piece in particular, ‘Eve’ by Rodin, really struck a cord with me. Standing still and quiet with that piece, I felt connected to the history of it, to the feeling that it conveyed which seemed still as relevant now as it was decades ago. That one piece, born out of a sense of creative energy by a single person has likely impacted thousands of others. How amazing is that?!
Creative acts may be fleeting or lasting, but either way, they are an incredible tool for connection. I’ll never forget the feeling that Rodin’s piece brought me. Or the memory of my grandmother patiently teaching me how to sew a stitch carefully. Or the childhood excitement I shared with others over stories that fostered my imagination. Or the sense of understanding I feel when I listen to certain music. The energy that goes into a creative process doesn’t stop when an end product is complete. It moves on, linking people and making connections that, so often, the creator never even thought possible. If that’s not important, I’m not quite sure what is.
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Previous Entries in This Series:
Why Creativity Counts #4: It’s Handy When You’re Cheap and Broke Frugal
Why Creativity Counts #3: Self-Sufficiency
Why Creativity Counts #2: It Makes You Smarter
Why Creativity Counts #1: Because It’s So Much More Than You May Think
A Note About This Feature: Why Wednesdays is a Move Eat Create weekly feature determined to turn the mid-week doldrums upside down and celebrate things I love to do and blog about. Currently, the focus is on creating and creativity.
I’m not sure if others can relate to this, but for the longest time I was really confused about creativity. I didn’t actually know that I was confused at the time. In fact, I thought I had it all figured out. I’ll take you through it.
When I was young, I learned that there were essentially two types of people. Left-brained versus right-brained. A-type versus B-type. Creative versus not-so-creative. I easily classified myself as a left-brained, type A, not-so-creative person. I was analytical, for sure. I was no doubt a rationale person. A planner. I still am. That piece of my identity, I was not confused about. The problem was that I had essentially learned that being such a person was mutually exclusive from being a creative person.
And learning this ‘truth’, I short-changed myself.
In elementary school, creativity occurred in art class. Those that excelled could sketch with talent and paint with beauty. Those that didn’t (i.e. me) slapped stuff on a paper and waited out the tortuous period, anticipating the bell to ring.
In high school, creativity occurred in electives. There was art again. But there was also photography, drama, and music. My vision of what it meant to be creative expanded – but just ever so slightly. I tried these things. I really did. And, I generally failed miserably. I still couldn’t create anything beautiful from chalk or pencils or paint. I was way too insecure and shy to get on a stage, and musical instruments were like foreign objects to me. If it wasn’t a triangle with a little wand to hit it with, I wasn’t going near it.
By the time I reached early adulthood, I was entrenched in the mindset that I was simply not born with creative ability and would never obtain it.
It wasn’t my thing. When I thought about it, this disappointed me, but it was something I accepted.
But oddly enough, as I moved through the world, met other people, read new things, and took different jobs, I realized just how confused I had been about what it means to be creative. Creativity is not limited to art or theater. Creativity is a mental process. It’s a method of thinking and living that involves exploring new concepts, generating ideas, trying new things, and being adventurous in experimenting with thoughts and actions.
Once I understood this, it became clear to me that I am a indeed a creative person AND a type-a, left-brained, planner, too.
I’m creative when I problem-solve with clients at work about how to make their lives more safe and comfortable. I’m creative when I wade through my apprehension to see what it feels like to work a sewing machine. I’m creative when I see a recipe and start thinking about what spices to swap for one another and what vegetables I might want to use that aren’t included in the instructions. I’m creative when I read a book and let my mind wander into a world of fantasy or when I generate ideas for blog post while out on a run.
I am creative all the damn time.
Seriously.
I bet you are, too. And, you may not even notice it.
My creative pursuits are most evident these days in my knitting, cooking/baking, and writing. (By the way, I’ve always been a writer, but never thought of it as creative. Since I generally wrote non-fiction-type things I didn’t think it counted. Funny.) But, as I’ve shared, it shows up all over the place. Some of my most creative moments don’t necessarily have any tangible end-product. Brainstorming with co-workers and solving problems with clients is a whole world of creative energy in its own right.
Moral of this story?
It took me to practice creativity in my thinking to understand what creativity really is. Doing so has opened up a whole new sense of self and a fascinating abundance of possibilities.
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To read the previous series in this column, select the ‘Why Wednesdays’ tag in the right side column. The prior series in this column explored the topic of running.
Move Eat Create 