As children, we all drew, read books, painted, puttered around with science projects and dreamed of being astronomers. We didn’t have to be a specialist, or get better at things, or “improve our skills.”
We could just PLAY.
We could dabble in things and just feel happy! And that was enough. Here are a few ideas about how to invite a little more creativity into our day-to-day lives.
What was a toy/experience you couldn’t get as a child? Get that! As a kid, I remember my sister getting these big tubs of modeling clay to play with. They were like this finer version of plasticine. I am not sure why I didn’t get them (maybe, it was her birthday gift) but I remember my heart DESIRED them. This is something I got for myself when I started nurturing my creativity a few years back. And you don’t have to get the “expensive” version (unless you want it, of course). The little child in you just wants to play!
Make your desk a creative haven. I think the whole fidget spinner trend was all about having something to do with your hands. Have stuff on your desk to play with and to give your mind a break. Things we could have: Clay to mold, lots of colorful pens to doodle with, a talisman like a dragon/beetle, miniature toys and so on.
Buy a Coloring Book for Adults and Color Away. Coloring books for adults is another trend that seems to have disappeared. But my favorite coloring book is something I know I will buy many more copies of! It’s a small little book, so you can get that reward of having finished something when you color a pattern. It’s The Mini Mandala Coloring Book by Susanne F. Fincher. It is based on art therapist Joan Kellogg’s work. It’s a MAGICAL book. If you are feeling scattered, you will find that intuitively picking a pattern from the book and coloring in it will help you feel more centered afterward. AND you HAVE to use Crayolas! Washed-out color pencils just don’t give that juicy feeling you get when you play with colors.
Buy a tarot-like imaginative card deck and pick a card. I don’t think cards predict the future. I think pictures help us access intuition. Of course, synchronicities can show up. But it’s mostly a creative process, not a predictive one. One of my favorites is Dawn Brunke’s The Animal Wisdom Tarot. Find a fun, intuitive, childlike deck that seems to pull at you.
Use one sense to spark off another. If you journal by hand, it will help spark off images. I think journaling is a great way to access our visual sense. If you hear drum music, it will bring you to a centered place that helps you create. All our senses are interconnected and using one often sparks off another. Think of scents you like, music you love and colors that call, and bring them to you.
Use symbolic forms to express what you feel. I have sewed when I felt I needed some mending. I have colored when my heart has felt gray. I have made collages and mixed media when I was piecing together different pieces of my life. Art is for the heart. This is something I keep remembering and forgetting. Let’s keep this up. Let’s practice this.
Explore something new that you’ve always been curious about: Check out free events that are often available at local libraries. Go for a guided walk (most big cities have them). Learn about local birds and flowers and trees. Check out YouTube videos to teach yourself how to paint or sew or cook. Get a kids’ gift box version of a hobby you are interested in — I got a kids’ sewing box a few years ago to learn (or relearn) to sew. Kids’ stuff is much less intimidating than going for a full course.
I have been doing a lot less playing lately, and I think that’s why I have been running out of juice. I think play is what keeps us hopeful and joyful and excited. So, this is a reminder post as much for me as for you, dear reader.
Let’s play more. Let’s focus on the present. Let’s live from a fuller place!
Ritu Kaushal is the author of the memoir The Empath’s Journey. Set during the first few years after she emigrated from India to the United States, it connects personal stories with practical tools to help highly sensitive people channel their gifts.
Ritu also works as a creativity coach for blocked writers.
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