Rediscovering Your Creative Outlet

I've had a vivid imagination for as long as I can remember. Chalk it up to being an only child or the daughter of an animated first grade teacher or just a personality trait that came with the package. I've always dwelt further outside of the box than inside of it.

For instance, an uptight mom might think it strange for a child to name and play with a box of 64 Crayola Crayons taking care to never dull their tops. The fact that Magenta always ended up marrying Midnight Blue (my simple version of Barbie & Ken perhaps) was just a hint that maybe this girl will see things through her own special rose-colored glasses...and yes, I do. But as the prosaic routine of life wear on those finely sharpened crayons can quickly be reduced to little nubs of color with the paper torn and breaks and chips.

We were formed with an creative spirit within us. Unlocking and releasing that creative spirit is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Whether it takes shape in the form of a chinese cooking class or soap-making, this creative outlet will combat apathy and fend off depression. Your creative muscle, the muscle that works the imagination to reinvent your daily life and shape life goals, is a muscle that needs INTENTIONAL (there's that word!) exercising. Done within the confines of a new leather journal, a note jotted on a piece of napkin or posted online for optimum accountability-this is the time of year that most of us think of redefining our goals and reconnecting to our future. Your creative outlet is a powerful way to reignite passion and defeat the stress that easily occurs in daily life.

“The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things- ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later, or six months, or six years. But he has faith that it will happen.” — Carl Ally

I know that I only act on a fraction of the ideas that are swirling in my head and only complete a small portion of even those! But I've decided that that's okay. Because it's all there forming something new and exciting. And these ideas don't have to be perfectly shaped and kept safely in the box. It's okay if they're nubs and chips and pieces. It's okay that some of them have gotten broken and lost.

So what's it going to be for you this year? Pull out that unfinished quilt, re-read Jane Eyre or start a new business venture? As for me, probably all three! Whatever it is, let's just do it! Melt some of the colors and pieces and create a new adventure. And as you do, the result will be beautiful, even if you remelt it next year to use on a new canvas.