Aren’t we all craving real, true, present connection?
It feels heavy to be disconnected from the whimsical nature of life. It feels dull to feel empty of creative ideas. It feels aimless moving through life’s responsibilities and not having a deeper reason pulsing through our veins to continue forth.
And the more we distract ourselves by spoon feeding our naturally mindful palettes these quick bursts of dopamine, the more it feels like our inner worlds turn murky and gray.
I desperately want to learn how to live life fully again. Presently, joyfully, focused, and playfully. I want to find the quiet magic life has to offer and surround myself with its bliss. To cultivate energy.
The best way I know how to do this is by being creative. The past week I did something different in an attempt to restore my present and creative mind. Instead of allowing a tired brain to make a decision in my wind down or relaxation process (typically choosing a mindless social media scroll or fighting with my thoughts), I made the decision in advance. The only thing I would reach for in these moments of down time or boredom would be my crochet hook and yarn. And I would make a coaster. Then another. And another.
To my surprise it only took a week to experience the benefits that come alongside committing oneself to a creative practice. It didn’t start blissfully, rather it felt tedious, and I wondered if my brain would prove to be a lost cause.
It was not only difficult but also discouraging because spending hours doing creative and even yes, “boring” things used to be something that felt a lot more enlivening and easy to do.
I’m realizing that it’s going to take some considerable effort returning to my creative practice and taking care of my mind and body as a whole in order to get back to that place where doing healthy things for myself like focusing on a project or spending time just “being” becomes more effortless.
And this extends outwards to the rest of my life as well, because everything we do truly is connected. Some other tools I’ve been using to regain my creative energy and presence include meditation, hot yoga or other workouts, and keeping a journal to keep track of how I’m responding to the world around me. No matter who we are, I think it’s important to have consistent habits that force us to slow down and consider the way we are approaching the world, the people around us, and how that may be affecting our inner worlds.
This leads me to discuss creativity in the more mundane sense. I’ve been questioning how I can simply change my perspective to change my life. For example, noticing the feeling of the sun on my skin or the sound of shoppers focused on getting their weekly groceries at the farmers market. The smell of citrus walking past the booth that sells tender blood oranges, mixed with the scent of earthy celery from next door. Imagining the meals you will prepare for that week based on whatever is in season.
Keeping your head up and looking around. Taking your time to enjoy the moment. Now, the farmers’ market might be easier to romanticize than a Food 4 Less, Costco or Trader Joe’s on a Sunday afternoon if we are talking groceries, but the principle still applies.
Slowly but surely, sitting down to crochet became a more and more enjoyable experience. It also became something for me to be proud of, because I began to see results from my commitment. Not only in the form of completed coasters that I think will be a very fun touch in my future apartment that I am still looking for, but because I began reaping the benefits everywhere else.
Naturally, I started getting that butterfly buzz in my stomach coming up with new ideas that just pop into existence naturally whenever we put a present effort into life. Most importantly, I started to feel like myself again. It felt like a big, creative rinse of my system, one that brought me back to meaningful, blissful, intentional living.
So what’s next? The only way forward seems to keep picking up art projects, and who knows what’s to be discovered along the way.
