I’ve been doodling a lot lately. Some of the outcomes are better than the others (and some spelled better) but I thought I’d share, because, hey, they’re fun if nothing else. I do these when I’m in a creative drought and I need to get some inspiration flowing.
How to you channel your creativity when in a slump?
We can’t only do the stuff we enjoy for the rest of our lives- but we can do more of it than we do. Our culture is very into the “do what you love” movement, and man is it amazing, but realistically not everyone can do what they love. We have to get money, we have to do the house work. It’s not an option to get rid of all of these things. But it is an option to make them less time consuming. House work? Clean as you go to save time for the things you love. Set aside blocks of time for hobbies. Make time for people.
Remember that it’s not just huge time consuming things that make you happy. It’s also little beautiful moments in life. So why this advice might seem to be reaching for the stars on what you’re able to do… it’s not. Make the lists and look over it. It might be as simple as reading for thirty minutes before bed or premaking homemade waffles on the weekend so you can eat them every work morning.
**I do not own this image**
This quote is really old. It’s been on social media sites since the first accounts, and to be honest, I don’t even know who wrote it. Regardless, it’s something that I’ve been thinking about lately, and a lot. People always seem to take it to be about traveling or making a home. That’s a subject that’s not even in question to me, because I’ve always been latched onto the idea of a solid home.
This quote though has been hitting me in a completely different way. As someone who is so steadfast I find myself craving for things away from that of what I already know. I’m not a fan of change, if you ask my mom about it she’ll rant for a few hours about how frustrating it was when I was a kid. But now I’m yearning for my wings, I want change. I’m not searching for the type that take me away from everything I’ve ever wanted, but rather a type of change that can be more easily defined as “progress”.
I refuse to be uprooted, but I want to fly, and its difficult to master both. My mind and my soul are constantly arguing over leaving people behind who aren’t good for me anymore, taking on new ideas that I haven’t grown up with, and what would be the best move to move forward. That best way is the biggest thing to figure out. I just need to find a way to keep my roots as deep, yet let my branches reach so high towards the sky that it doesn’t matter if I can’t fly away. That’s really my goal now.
This is the time of the year were everyone starts panicking or stressing over all the stuff they didn’t get done this year. Understandably, we try to set goals for each year, but they don’t always happen. Maybe I gained weight instead of lost it this year. Maybe I didn’t touch my camera near as much as I wanted to. Maybe I only finished a few books instead of my goal of fifty. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
It’s so easy to get upset over these things, because we feel like we’re not making process. My thought is, what were you doing instead? You were doing something. If you gained weight perhaps you became a better baker, or got a better social life and were eating out more often. Maybe since you weren’t that creative you spent more time saving up inspiration, see were I’m going?
This year when making that list of resolutions, how about instead of just rewriting all the things you had on it last year, you look at what kept you from getting your goals and you put the first step in the opposite direction. Instead of lose weight: eat three salads a week. Instead of take more pictures: set aside two hours, one for down time and one for camera time.
Goals are about balance, and now that you’ve made the goals and missed them, you can know why you missed them and how to correct that in the future. Don’t stress about getting it all done in the next two weeks, just be realistic and work out all the details.
Anna Down South 