I'm so honored to be included in Stephey Baker's Courage to Fly blog hop! Over the next six weeks, 39 beautiful souls will be sharing their thoughts on creativity, expression and what it takes to spiritually soar alongside your dreams. I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on how I overcame a stubborn case of the winter creative blues. As my inspiration, I'll be using the question "What is one thing that you need in your life, that upon receiving it, would take you to the skies?"
**********************************************************************************
Spring is here! It's official!
The first sign of spring in my neck of the woods is the appearance of the crocuses and daffodils peeking out of the soil. It's always a very happy day for me when they can first be seen making their grand debut.
This winter was hard for me. It was long and cold and my creativity and creative spirit seemed to winter over along with the bulbs in my yard.
My business had the usual peak of the holidays and then, the ultimate lull afterwards. Holiday orders hit me hard and heavy this year... more than I had anticipated. I think it just wiped my creativity dry... physically and mentally.
Normally, once I hit the middle of January, my creative spark comes back and I'm ready to take on the world again. But, this year, things were different.
The words just wouldn't come.
The images in my head that compel me to create them just weren't there.
The music that usually gets me going was just falling on deaf ears.
The images in my head that compel me to create them just weren't there.
The music that usually gets me going was just falling on deaf ears.
Through this dark creative time, I realized that my body, mind and spirit were demanding what they needed. Just as my body craves vitamins and minerals, it was now craving time and rest.
So, I listened. I waited. I tried not to push.
And it came back.
With the Spring, it came back.
And it came back.
With the Spring, it came back.
That quiet, that patience, those moments alone with myself is just what I needed to fly. The lesson that I learned was to listen to my "self," not to push and to give my spirit just what it craved.
As a small, creative business owner, it's drilled into me that I need to produce... I need to work... I need to hustle constantly. I need to have big ideas brewing all the time and be taking the big steps to make them happen. But my body and mind told me otherwise and I'm so glad that I listened.
As we change seasons, what is your creative spirit telling you? Have you just sat and listened? Thought and felt?
It's a powerful thing to let our creativity and our spirit drive our production. It may be the most effective way to work through blocks and experience true growth.
Listen, rest and bloom...
*************************************************************************************
It's a pleasure to participate in The Courage To Fly blog hop organized by Stephey Baker and Handmade Spark! Thanks so much for joining me!
22 comments:
I think staying healthy and resting are just as important as producing work. Everyone has fallow periods were they simply need to rest and give the muse a break. I think it's not only good, but vital.
I'm glad to see your creativity has come back!
Jenny! This post has some wise, wonderful insight i think every creative person would do good to take to heart. i think we sometimes over look the various things we need to create a balanced, fulfilled life, one of them being REST! Another could be patience or silence - these are all creations! These times for rest, a call for balance, tending to health, solitude are inspired by the muse. Our muse has more to teach than "doing" and fulfilling stereotypical roles of "creation", she teaches us to listen from within and follow our heart and can teach us when to unplug and refuel and find new ways to be inspired, to create, ways that allow us to BE without the urge to hustle or be anything other than we are in the moment.
This is such a valuable lesson to learn form our muse, to listen from within, to ourselves, our bodies etc. thank you so much for sharing this priceless message and for participating in the hop!
Listening to those nudges & nuturing your creative spirit is always essential. Lovely post!
i totally get this post! i think that as an artist we have to understand that creativity ebbs and flows. it is so important. good for you for letting yourself take a break and "winter". i am sure you now appreciate the spring even more now!
I was a little crushed by today's snow, actually, because I am needing spring so badly.
Loved your words. They resonate with me a lot this year.
I hear you girlfriend!
It's such a beautiful lesson - to be in tune with the wisdom of our bodies, and trust that when we're truly in the flow, the inspiration and creative juices will arrive again, almost magically!
Great to meet you here, fellow Blog Hopper!
Tricia x
It's a beautiful lesson, I think... Being in the true flow means listening to the innate wisdom of our bodies.
Trusting the messages, responding accordingly, surrendering sweetly, and waiting for the creative juices and inspiration to return, as if by magic.
Great to meet you here, fellow Blog Hopper!
Tricia x
Lovely post.. It's so hard for creative minds to rest, and to just be.. It's like we don't think we are "allowed" to just rest, be still and fill our souls back up. It shows courage that you allowed/ or are allowing yourself to do so. Listening to our lives is so important and taking down time to then get back to it full on is actually more productive in many ways as you will be creating what is authentic to your heart, not forced!
Good for you!
Heather
yes I agree with you and Brandi ... it's so often hard for us to admit ... but many time REST is the order of the day and sometimes week and other times weeks
listen, rest and bloom....
loved this post! enjoying this blog hop immensely already!
This winter was exactly the same for me, and usually I enjoy winter. But this one seemed so dark and long and I felt so uncreative. And just this past Sunday, the first day of Spring, I felt a shift, and though it is still grey outside, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, feel new growth inside of me.
A lovely post.
I totally relate. I sometimes wish I didn't have these ups and downs and wish I could be high energy - going, going, going all the time. But it's just not the way it works for me. The down times are hard to accept, but important for recharging.
I'm gazing out onto a spring storm that has us all declaring a snow day here in Southwestern Ontario. I know spring has officially arrived - I feel it in my blood and bones, but the view is depressing me today. Then, I came upon this blog, and it cheered me right up. Yes. It's here, and I can ride it into summer.
Thanks for this. :)
Thanks so much for your comments, everyone! I think that as "one woman" shows, it's hard to let our production rest while our creativity recharges. It was so freeing for me to realize that, just as the earth and seeds need to rest and prepare to sprout, so do I.
The blog hop is so inspiring already, isn't it? I can't wait to read others posts and follow along for the next six, exciting weeks!
I wholeheartedly agree that it is so important to give yourself the time to rest and breathe... for your own mental and physical well being.
So glad that the Spring has brought new inspiration!
This winter has been a tough one hasn't it? I've been feeling the same way & anxiously anticipating spring in the hopes that my mind would become anew just like the earth. Thank you for a wonderful post!
I have bipolar disorder and that very much informs my creative cycles. I am just now learning that I can't expect to create at the same pace every day. Thanks for the eloquent reminder that my "self" knows what is best.
I loved reading your post! I find that at times in my life, I need to recharge and hibernate a while.. and figure my life out. My life often takes new directions that I'm not prepared for.. so I need the time to focus and think things through. xo hugs
What an honest heart-felt post, Jenny. So many of us can relate to this - it's so helpful to get a reminder like this that it's okay to slow down and be still. At times, that's exactly what our creativity needs to flourish - that quiet space. Thx for sharing! By the way, great etsy shop!
I am learning that same lesson. I can't always go, go, go. It's just important to schedule in some down time. Seems luxurious, but it is very much necessary for my well being. Thank you for sharing.
resting and rejuvenating are wonderful things. it's something that we so often forget but so important to remember.
great post!
Yes, it is true. I have a business too and I know what you mean how it goes... I am slowly learning to listen to my body too. I try to be patient, quiet and slow when my body calls out for some rest. Still learning, but am getting better and better.
Have a wonderful creative spring! :)
Post a Comment