have you noticed the effects of being creative in your life?

[velvet]

Today I was watching a show on tlc (at a friend's house) called \"10 years younger\". A woman was on who looked really terrible. She had a permanent frown, her hair was tied back messily, she was slumped over, and she just looked dried, haggard, and old. The host of the show was showing her pictures of herself and asking her to describe who she was at that time. I will never forget one picture, she looked radiant, happy, beautiful, with long, flowing hair. When asked when this picture was taken, I about fell out of my chair when she said it was taken just 5 years ago. He asked her where she was in her life at that time. She said she was being really creative and artistic and was really happy with her life. He asked her what had happened. She said, \"I took the safe route and got a job in business to have a steady paycheck.\"

She stopped being creative, and it showed. My god. It would be the best cautionary tale to show those two pictures of her and tell people that is what can happen to you on the inside and outside when you dont live what you love. When you choose safety over a good hunch. When you give up trying and just plod along.

It reminded me of a day last week when I was going to a new job, helping out a woman I never met for a few hours. On the way to the job, my back was really hurting and inflamed. I was a bit nervous about it. I didnt notice it, but once I got there and started working with the children, my back pain disappeared. It stayed away the whole day, and didnt return until I was headed home. That's when I realized the pain had been gone all day as I worked, and I marveled at the healing effect of the work that I do.

I was wondering if anyone else had similar stories? How did choosing to be creative help you in small or large ways? How did choosing to not be creative affect your life? Have you watched anyone else's life and noticed how being creative or being unwilling to create affected them?

[Unity]

I find that some days I make plans to spend most of the day doing the hobbies that I love, but somehow get sidetracked into ruminating about something that's currently upsetting me. I have found myself wasting days doing nothing but thinking and pacing around. Obviously I end up feeling washed out and headachy.

[claymate]

I definitely notice a difference! I work with polymer clay, ok I'm OBSESSED with polymer clay and when I come home from work and get to clay, it totally relaxes me, even if I just go and piddle around with it rather then make anything. I've only been seriously involved with PC for a couple of years but I've found that I'm more confident about alot of things now than I used to be and I'm much more content in my off time...

[LateBloomer]

claymate. I'm curious...what exactly is polymer clay? What do you do with it? What qualities make it worthy of your obsession?

[Shiral]

I definitely notice that I'm happier when I am doing creative work. Whether I'm working on my writing, or painting with my watercolors, time flies. And at the end of the evening, I feel I've done something worthwhile. If I just sit and watch TV when I get home from work, I feel like I essentially wasted my time, even though I might have enjoyed the movie. It's not as dramatic as forgetting physical pain, but it certainly improves my mood. It also makes me feel productive.

Melissa

[joyous1]

I have just discovered landscaping or gardening, not sure what the description is of what I've just done.

I took 3 weeks off work to have some time for some personal things going on and landscaped the front yard - it was so easy and fast, it took only a day to dig up the yard, get rid of the sod, put in the bricks, buy the shrubs and plant them and cover with mulch. And it looks fantastic! The time just flew by. And I didn't mind any part of it, even the digging out of the sod. It was all fun and deeply satisfying and absorbing. Same when I did the memorial garden for my two kitties in the back yard. Plus, my back was achey at the end of the day, but nothing compared to how my back hurt at the end of my first day back at work at a desk under fluorescent lights.

Hmmm, maybe there's a message there, hey?

All my neighbours have commented on my new front yard - one said \"that's going to get the house sold right there, its gorgeous!\"

[claymate]

Hi Latebloomer. Polymer clay is colored clay that can be cured at a low temperature (home oven, toaster oven, etc)
I like it because you can do so much with it! You can make all kinds of things from it, cover stuff with it, paint it, stamp it, sculpt it, etc.
I like to cover things and make jewelry, pins, bookmarks, etc.

This is the first hobby I ever had that I've stuck with and I think its because I can do so many different things with it. There is always a new technique or project to learn and some of the stuff is so quick and easy, I get instant gratification too!

A good website with lots of information is polymerclaycentral.com if you want to know more.

[Music4Joy]

Hi, Velvet ~

I can attest to the fact that when I'm using my creative talents, time flies, my mood improves, and I feel cheerful!

I'm a mom with four kids and my two youngest ones are teens, so I've been pretty busy for the last 23 years, or so, doing the \"necessary\" things in life. But all during those years, I made time for creative hobbies that helped me to feel that I was using my talents and getting joy out of that.

Some of the activities that helped me: I sang in choirs; I volunteered to do newsletters for a small group and I loved the creativity of designing them; I practiced playing my guitar; and volunteered to decorate for parties for the small group and for various church functions. Over the years, I also created a lot of posters and banners for decorating and I've enjoyed that immensely.

Right now, I'm pursuing my dream of being a songwriter and over the last 2-1/2 years I've written about 35 songs. This makes me feel so alive and happy when I'm working on a new song. I've always loved music and singing, so this is just the best! Not only that, but after I've written a new song, I get to sing it around the house or while I'm driving in my car, and even if it never gets recorded--I'm enjoying my music! I know that raising my children and using my creative abilities regularly have kept me young and healthy.

Thanks for the opportunity to share all of this with you!

~Music4Joy

[katchal]

I don't subscribe to the view that only \"arty\" activities are creative.

I'll never have the manual dexterity to excel at playing the piano and the flute or drawing or sewing or handicrafts. I'll probably never successfully paint a picture since I can't even paint my walls without several rolls of masking tape! Those fine motor skills just aren't there.

But that doesn't mean I'm not creative. About 100 times a day, I find creative solutions to problems and unusual ways of approaching tasks. I generate dozens of ideas - some even good! - for all kinds of projects at work and home.

I disagree that simply spending time doing arts and handicrafts is what make the difference. I think it is much more important to be fully engaged with the world around you - both intellectually and emotionally - to continuously learn new things and to enjoy the challenge of the activities you're doing. For some the engagement is art; for some it's politics; for me it's marketing.

[GiniDee]

My best friend once told me that I lived the most creative life she had ever seen, not because of my art (which I was not doing then), but because I take a creative and often novel approach to everything from setting the table to flower arranging to cleaning the house.
I love trying new stuff and seeing how I can do old stuff better. That's all creativity is about at any level. Gotta love that!

[Scenario Thinker]

I disagree that simply spending time doing arts and handicrafts is what make the difference. I think it is much more important to be fully engaged with the world around you - both intellectually and emotionally - to continuously learn new things and to enjoy the challenge of the activities you're doing. For some the engagement is art; for some it's politics; for me it's marketing.

Even thought I was an art major in college, my most creative work has been in computer programming.

[Turquoise Woman]

I was wondering if anyone else had similar stories? How did choosing to be creative help you in small or large ways? How did choosing to not be creative affect your life?

When I do anything creative, I generally feel elated. However, when I created art, I started to feel increasingly angry about my work right after I completed. I'd have an idea in my head that I couldn't do justice to. Now I just express my feelings and ideas in visual symbols without making anything more of them.

I've gone back to playing guitar and singing because I found a folk music group in my area. This gives me incentive to practice and relearn songs I used to play or learn new songs. I get a lot of satisfaction from figuring out what the chords are and how to play them to express the meaning of the song. Then the ability to relax and play and sing in the group is a bonus. When I work out songs, I feel exhilarated and relaxed at the same time. There's no right or wrong, just absorption. And I don't have to do it more than 1 -2 hours at a time.

Still, I require work to feel good about myself. Since I've gone through several periods when I wasn't working, I'm keenly aware of the need for interaction and problem solving that I get on the job. When I'm not working, I find it difficult to do hobbies or anything else.

Have you watched anyone else's life and noticed how being creative or being unwilling to create affected them?

My mother started out in a field that didn't suit her strengths, then she had the misfortune of being injured young. While she tried briefly to find work, she has remained bitter and resentful all her life.
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[LateBloomer]

Ha! I think I actually have some of the stuff (polymer clay) in my junk drawer! Never go around to playing with it. I'm inspired to try...

[Joy]

I totally agree that pursuing your interests is very important. My hobby until recently was photography. I say \"until recently\", because in the last year and half too much had happened in my life and I hardly find time for it anymore. I started school for my graduate degree for my \"proper\" life, I have two children with school problems, we moved out of the area where I used to belong to a club, so now I can not find friends with the same interests, I received promotion at work, which I supposed is good, but now I have too many new responsibilities. It is so overwhelming, but I feel as if a part of me is lost. I am too tired at the end of the day to do what I so loved. And I am constantly busy during the weekends. I noticed that it's not just the physical tiredness, it is also the psychological - I am just not there spiritually.
I am trying to figure it for myself now how to get back to my former self.
But I agree that some people just enjoy other things - programmers can be very engrossed in computers.

[velvet]

Katchal,

I'm guessing you didnt make your remarks about what I said, because I made no limitations and did not say it had to be \"art\". In fact, in my example, Childcare was what made me feel best, both mentally and physically. Some people wouldnt call that \"creative work\", but those would be people who have never worked with children, I expect.

I am told I look very young, and I havent aged, even at 37 nearly 38. That may be the gifts of my family ancestry, but I also think it has to do with my work, since that is the best flourishing part of me. I know when I was doing different work, ie retail sales or office work, I looked ok, but I wasnt glowing and happy. The more I do this work, the more I love it, and the more I flourish, both inside and outside. I just try to bring that success to my other areas of my life.

Which is not to say I dont itch to grow and do other things at times, I just trust that when it is time for me to do something else, I will know how to find it.

velvet