As spring makes its appearance, at least where I live, the earth has been showing its aliveness in a colorful way—trees blossoming with new greenery, flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors emerging from the soil, birds and other animals visibly enjoying the warmer weather.
For those of us in the US and in many places around the world—although unfortunately not all—we are rounding the corner of the intensity of the pandemic. Many are emerging from seclusion into a greater involvement with the life around us.
And as we do so, our creativity can be renewed.
Our capacity for creativity is always present, even if we are in the darkest cave, since living consciously and with awareness is itself a creative act. But by contemplating beauty, we can awaken greater creativity.
Appreciating beauty opens the heart and allows us to access deeper levels of mind.In the country where growing things are more abundant, or in a city where there are parks and trees planted along sidewalks, there are opportunities to allow your eyes to rest on the beauty of the natural world.
Whether what you see inspires you to create a work of art depends on your own inspiration and desire. But simply paying attention to things is an art in and of itself.
Thomas Moore writes:“Creativity is, foremost, being in the world soulfully, for the only thing we truly make, whether in the arts, in culture, or at home is soul….Entering our fate with generous attentiveness and care, we enjoy a soulful kind of creativity that may or may not have the brilliance of the work of great artists” (Care of the Soul, p. 199).
Our creativity can be stimulated by inner processes as well as what we see and sense around us. Observing something in the outer world can trigger a vision in the inner world of imagination, and our imagination can enable us to see external things in new ways.
When we create, we ourselves are created. When we do something or make something, we become transformed.
Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way writes:“No art blooms without the artist also blooming.”
Some ideas:
- Keep a journal just for beautiful memories: written, drawn, photographed, moments of “epiphany.”
- Write your dreams every morning—or just the first thoughts on awakening. Underlining meaningful words or ideas.
- Make a workbook in which you can expand your dream images and things you observe in the outer world as well.
Philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “In difficult times you should always carry something beautiful in your mind,” so this is a way of keeping a storehouse of beautiful memories.
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” —Rumi