One of the best things I've done for myself this year was to read The Artist's Way. It's a 12-week course that helps the reader discover her/his inner artist, connect to creativity, and develop spiritual practices. One of the biggest concepts from this book is the need to "fill the well," like the oxygen mask metaphor, it speaks to the need for the artist to be creatively stimulated before she/he can creatively stimulate others.
I've been in a bit of a rut with my creativity these last few weeks. I've had a lot on my plate (June means 1,000,000 family birthdays, Father's Day, end of school) but more than that, I've fallen down on filling my well. I've been reading too much for work and not enough for pleasure, been spending time working on things I should do instead of what I want to do.
Recognizing this, I'm making an about face. Here are the things that are filling my well this week:
- "A Futile and Stupid Gesture" a fascinating and hilarious look at the creation of The National Lampoon
- knitting a crazy rainbow sweater
- looking at pictures of hair styles on Pinterest
- Baking banana bread
- watching these weird "Hairdresser Reacts" videos on YouTube
- 10-minute word sprints using the opening lines of other books as inspiration
So I'm going to let myself avoid "work" a bit longer and keep on filling my well. Hopefully I'll come back refreshed and inspired.
What fills your well? Are you reading/watching/doing anything cool right now? Please share in the comments!