Reading The Artists Way by Julia Cameron, again, I find there was much I had forgotten. One of the suggestions she has for the reader under Tasks is: Morning Pages. She says to get up one half hour early each day and write in long hand, three pages. Indeed that will help unlock your creativity. I never have trouble filling my three pages.Another task is take yourself on an Artist's Date. I love to do that. I simply have to give myself permission to do it instead of all the chores I have at home.
Another suggestion is to list three enemies of your creative self- worth.Cameron says it is important to acknowledge your creative injuries and grieve them.I know so much more about the words grief and grieve now. I would never have considered grieving something like unspoken injuries to my self-esteem. Putting the words on paper helps to face these hurts and get over them.
And then we are told in the book to list three champions of our creative selves.Each compliment we hear helps to build our creative self-worth. I am fortunate that I have collected a few in recent years, but when I was young and as insecure as an egg on a fence, I heard few words of praise for my creative endeavors.
My champions, back then, were my two sisters and one sister's husband. I did share some of my writing with them, but I barely remember what they said.
Perhaps I knew my sisters and my mother would say nice things, and I didn't share with others in my family because I feared their remarks. If only families understood the importance of supporting a child's creativity, a child's efforts, even if they are different from the norm of the family. My youngest sister is an artist and was a wonderful modern dancer in her youth. She wanted,as a young woman, to pursue art as her career, but it was unheard of in our family. She still has difficulty accepting that she is an artist although she has been commissioned to do pencil drawings, and she paints and sculpts. I worry that I didn't support her well enough, taking for granted that she would know I admired her. Since I was such a late bloomer, I was also a naysayer; a negative voice at times when I should have been complimenting the creativity of others. Because I didn't believe in me, I couldn't believe in them.
The Artists Way is an excellent book for getting your creative juices going whether you are just beginning to find your way or have been to the mountain and just can't make the trip anymore. It is called a course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self.
If you are familiar with this book, tell us what you think. Did you find it helpful? Do you think you could use a boost to your creativity?
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