CREATIVE LIVING

My current journal (handmade), memo pad for daily gratitudes, and fountain pen.

Years ago, I received a book from a close family friend, someone I consider my creative guardian angel, titled "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It is a beautifully written (work)book on the subject of creativity. I didn't actually read it the whole way through until this year. I finally stuck to the 12-week regimen (which I extended beyond the 12 weeks in order to fully absorb and practice some of the weekly lessons) and completed reading the entire book last month.

The book introduced me to something called the morning pages. It is a daily morning ritual wherein the first thing you do each day is complete three pages stream-of-consciousness writing about anything and everything that comes to mind. Now, I have kept a journal for almost 20 years on and off, and I usually write after waking up. But I have to admit that I fell prey to the idea of "being in the mood" to write for most of those 20 years.

Anyway, the morning pages have changed my life, in that pretty much every day, for the past 6 months, began with this ritual. It has become a lifeline to my inner well-being. I feel so much more alive creatively and am gaining confidence as a writer each and every morning that I devote to writing my morning pages. Most of all, I'm grateful for the idea and the journey that this book guided me through, because by committing myself to the morning pages each and every day, I finally gave myself permission to be an artist and to call myself one.

Loengard, O'Keeffe Taking A Morning Walk, 1968

Another important tool for creativity that Julia Cameron writes about in her second book on creativity called "Walking in this World" is, as the title suggests, walking. In addition to completing daily morning pages, she asks that her readers walk for 20 minutes at least once per week. This was music to my ears. I have been a devoted walker for a couple of years now and find it lovely beyond expression. Nevertheless, I was astounded and delighted to read Julia's rationale and emphasis on the impact that walking can have on our creative capacity and output.

The last important tool that I discovered over the last couple of years, which has done wonders for my well-being, and thus my capacity for creative output, is the practice of thinking about and writing "gratitudes" on a daily basis. Typically, my morning creative routine starts with writing gratitudes on a notepad (seen in the picture at the top). I then fold the piece of paper and put it in a jar where I keep all my gratitudes for the year. I will unfold all of them and read them one by one at the end of the year. I've been writing down gratitudes on a regular basis for some time now, but I only recently discovered this idea to place the daily gratitudes in a jar and read them all at the end of the year. I'm excited for when that time comes!

And lastly, in the spirit of synchronicity, right after I completed "The Artist's Way" I read Elizabeth Gilberts' "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" book, which talks at length about the importance of "doing the work/one's creative calling" on a regular basis, ideally daily. This book came at the perfect time for me, because it reinforced what I was already practicing with the morning pages, gratitudes and daily walks in an attempt to live more authentically, creatively and slowly.

Happy creative living!
~Modern Akhmatova