What are the "shoulds" that get in the way of your creative work? Mine have to do with paychecks. I've been thinking this week about jobs that feed the body but not the soul. Surely I am creative enough to find work that does both!
"To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive." (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Do you have preferences and do you let people know what they are? Or do you always "go along" with your companions? I'm finding as a newly minted single that I am enjoying the rediscovery of my preferences! A small example: I no longer have wine with dinner every night, and when I do, it's Chianti instead of Chardonnay. Not that there's anything wrong with Chardonnay; I simply prefer Chianti. Why did I drink Chardonnay all those years when I preferred something else?!
"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."
What did you pay attention to this week that brought you joy, that made you feel delight? For me it was the crunch of snow under my feet, the sharp sting of cold air on my face, the robin red-breast on the branch outside my office window...
MORNING PAGES
Did you write three pages every morning? I did! I got out some anger, some worry, some pain. I wonder how and why I ever got out of the habit of doing morning pages when they are such an effective tool for dealing with the "stuff" of life...
ARTIST DATE
Did you take your inner artist on a date? That three-mile walk in the snow was a good one for waking up the child in me. And the five minutes I spent listening to Don McLean's "Starry, Starry Night" and watching the slide show of Van Gogh's paintings fed my artist full up...
WEEK TWO TASKS
Did you complete any of the tasks last week? Anything you'd like to share? I did several tasks this week. I found that listing twenty things I enjoy doing did not come fast and easy, which told me how much my life has been about doing things for others instead of for myself. I want to do this exercise again as I move forward in the process of rediscovering my preferences.... I also found that the changes I listed in the "Ten Tiny Changes" exercise were anything but tiny! I want to do this one again, too, and make the list more doable by thinking of small changes that could lead me toward the bigger changes I'd like to make for myself.
Thanks to everyone who shared last week. I can't wait to read about your experiences in creative recovery during Week 2. You inspire me!
Next week's assignment: Week 3, Recovering a Sense of Power
