This one is easy for me: not valuing it enough. Even though I know that being creative is so life-giving for me, it's far too easy to rank it low on the list of priorities. 

Most of us have been raised with some kind of narrative around work and worth. The harder you work, the more you'll succeed, the more valuable you'll be. Taking time to daydream, write poetry, play with collage images and colour doesn't count as "work" and therefore isn't valuable. It takes a lot of intentional practice to shift out of that mindset and value my creative time as equally important to all the other to-dos and responsibilities. 

What about you? What stops you from engaging your creativity?

This month we're focusing on creativity and how to build your own unique creativity practice. I think we often have fairly limited definitions of what creativity is. Thinking about the Body Room and how we might use movement creatively made me think immediately of dance. Dancing is amazing and a great way to express ourselves through movement, however it's not the only way! 

What if we could use movement to help feel our way through a challenge we're facing? What if we invited our bodies to suggest ideas or inspiration and allowed our movements and postures to inform our thinking? What if we paid attention to our current needs and then asked our bodies what they could offer? 

In our Body Room, we have a number of prompts and guided instructions for different body based mindfulness and breathing practices and I love the descriptions of "Supportive Holds". Intentionally holding ourselves can be a creative way through stress or anxiety. 

Creativity gives us permission to experiment without expectations, to explore, knowing there could be any number of different paths to take. It can take some of the pressure off "getting it right" and I think our bodies benefit so much from our willingness to be curious and try something new.

Why or why not? 

Is part of why we often stop creating as adults because art can be messy? 

And what’s wrong with mess? 

I’m usually in the “No, thanks” camp, and when I dig into why, a lot of it has to do with control. I like to know I’m doing something “right”, to feel like whatever I’m doing will “turn out.” I like a neat, organized environment. I like routine and predictability. I think I’m probably not alone here! 

Thinking about messy art reminds me that sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zones in order to grow and learn. 

Sometimes we need to let go in order to be open to new possibilities. 

Sometimes we need to be less focused on the end result and more focused on fun! 

Sometimes there’s magic in the mess. 

Sounds like a metaphor for life.

  

Engaging our creativity is a practice. Practices are powerful rhythms in our lives that can support and nurture our well-being and we can develop them any time. Don't already have a creative practice? Using our Spirit Room as a place to start, here's one way to begin a creative practice focussed on materials. 

1. Explore the materials. In our Spirit Room, we have supplies for colouring, watercolours, collage, acrylic painting and a few mixed media items like stickers. 

2. Commit! Building a practice is all about committing the time and energy to making it a habit. It doesn't have to be long and it doesn't have to be every day, just choose a time and a place for your practice and put it in your calendar! 

3. Connecting with someone else building a creative practice or already consistently practicing their creativity can be really helpful. Invite a friend to watercolour with you or join Savanna at Craft & Connect on Monday nights. Alternatively, you could ask a coach or therapist to check in on your practice to give you that added layer of accountability. 

Have fun! Creativity is all about being open to intuition, new ideas and new experiences. It doesn't have to be neat, perfect or make sense!

This is sort of a trick question, because I absolutely believe that all of us are creative, however, not all of us turn our creativity into a vocation in the arts! 

Does an immediate answer come to mind when you read this question or is it a challenge to imagine how you would want to create if you were an artist? 

If you did have an immediate answer (paint! music! dance!), do you have a creative practice that lets you enjoy that medium even if it's not your full-time vocation? 

If you didn't have an immediate answer think back to your earliest memories of play. What did you gravitate towards? What gave you joy? What astounded you when you discovered it? 

If you have made a career in the arts, why did you pick the medium you did? What was it about that medium that drew you to it?

April is National Poetry Month and we'll be focussing on creativity around here. I wanted to share my reflection from our April newsletter on why art and creativity are so important: 

"You may or may not know that I love poetry! Often, this surprises people. Poetry? And you're right, not all poetry. Specifically, I love poetry that is accessible, relatable and reflective. I want to easily understand most of what I'm reading, but also be prompted to slow down and really absorb what the poet is pointing me toward. I like getting out of my left-brain, logical, thesis-trained brain and into a space where words touch our emotional core. Where we feel a truth deep in our bones. 

Poetry doesn't have a monopoly on this experience. All art plays this important function for us. Visual art, novels, music, theatre, and dance all helps shift us out of our usual ways of thinking, opening us up to new understanding or learning, affirming our experiences or helping us grow empathy for experiences we're unfamiliar with. 

Even better, art calls us into connection. Art is always a conversation between the artist and the viewer or reader. It's also a source of kinship when you find others who love the same art you do! 

So this is your invitation, what connections would you like to be part of this month? What art would you like to create and what art would you like to experience?" 

(If you'd like to receive the monthly newsletter, you can sign up on our website at the bottom of the homepage! Our newsletters usually have a reflection, prompts, information on upcoming events and a blessing.)

    

Invitations are powerful. All of us want to feel like our company is wanted and appreciated, that someone else enjoys spending time with us and wants us around. And all of us benefit from positive, meaningful connections! 

Invitations work best when we're specific. "Would you like to go thrift-store shopping with me on Friday afternoon?" is much clearer than, "Want to hang out this weekend?" 

Invitations work best when we're clear about our hopes or expectations, "Would you like to go for walk around Westwood tomorrow? I'd like to get to know you better." 

And invitations work best when we can let go of the outcome. Trust that the people who are a good fit for you will make the effort to connect with you, even if they don't have time on that particular Friday or would prefer to sit and get coffee rather walk. Trust that the people that don't respond or always say no, maybe aren't the best fit for this season of your life. Either way, making the invitation gives you the best chance of a good connection or at least helpful information for next time. 

Don't second-guess making the invite. Better to try and not have it pan out, than not try at all! 
Don't assume people will be busy or don't want to. Remember, all of us appreciate being invited, even if we can't make it this time. 
Don't take a "no, thanks" personally! Reach out again another time, or reach out to someone else. 

So, who would you like to invite and what would you like to invite them to? 

Happy connecting!

Imagine this is your best friend checking in on you. How would you answer? 

Sometimes all we need to do is slow down long enough to really hear ourselves and we immediately know what we need and what we'd like to focus on. 

Sometimes even when we slow down everything feels chaotic or overwhelming and it's hard to really focus in on what might help or who could support us. 

One of the easiest (and hardest) ways to reconnect with ourselves is to breathe. Yep, that simple and also that difficult. When we take slow, deep breaths we're opening ourselves up and that can feel vulnerable. Maybe there are feelings we're not quite ready to experience or thoughts we're not sure we want to look at too carefully. Maybe we know the tears are right there waiting and it feels like too much energy to let them out. 

And maybe that might answer the question of what you need: a safe space to practice being vulnerable with yourself; the time and the energy to allow the emotions and thoughts you want to process to move through you. 

Regardless of where you find yourself this Monday, the invitation to rest, reflect and reconnect is always open. I hope you give yourself the gift of accepting it. 

As we shift into spring it's a great time to pause and notice how the seasons give us so much wisdom and hope. The seasonal changes remind us that nothing lasts forever and to savour the different gifts right here, right now that each turn offers us. 

Especially in a time of chaos, where a lot feels overwhelming, hopeless and horrifying, let's lean into the practice of hope spring offers. Plant seeds: real ones or metaphorical ones! Practice gratitude for the longer hours of light and the earliest flowering plants. Commit to growing simply for the joy and delight of blooming.

We’re turning the corner into spring this week. If you have a garden, what are you planting? What are you excited to grow? 

Even without a garden, the change in seasons invites us to reflect. What would you like to grow in your life this spring? What seeds do you want to nurture? Have you prepared your garden beds or is there still some winter clean up that needs to happen?