What
do you do to re-energize yourself for writing?
Live creatively, friends...
Make a careful exploration of who
you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into
that. Don't be impressed with yourself, Don't compare yourself with
others. **Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative
best you can with your own life.** Galatians 6:1, 4,5 The Message
Last
summer I shadowed my photographer nephew on a job, as he chased
the light
in search of the best image. Energy flowed as I spent time with
him.
The
morning skies tinged with pink ...
The
golden glow of the lowering sun
The
play of shadows and light
Angles,
shutter speeds, aperture and focus
It
was a vivid picture for me as we focused on capturing the best
light. Just as Joel pursued the right light for his work, I
realize I seek beauty, which is also light, to energize my
creativity.
Perhaps
at the root cause of our reluctance to take the artist date, is a
failure to see God as the creator of beauty, as the one who wants to
be
my date
to fill up the (ink)well. I come from a strong work ethic,
where productivity was valued over creativity. Creativity and its
pursuit would be what happened after all the work was done, and where work was never done, it seemed artistic pursuit time
was almost non-existent. At the heart of the matter, though, I still fall for the
line that doing
is more important than being.
In a Martha world, the Mary artistic endeavours are easily ignored, or
relegated to time when everything else has been done. Too often I
feel I should not read a book, write poetry, craft, or saunter
unless I have put in a certain amount of “work.” But if we do not
understand the importance of nurturing the soul, we allow atrophy to
happen.
I
list myself as a seeker of beauty. A journal in hand, a mug of hot
tea or coffee on a bench alongside the river, is where I am often
found, in all seasons. Sunrises, sunsets are one of my ways of chasing the
light. This past week, over dinner with two soul sisters, we oohed and aahed as pinks and oranges blazed across the snowy mountain tops for a full 50
minutes, as the artist played with the clouds.
Sunrise,
sunset, subdued or bright,
The
light that shines in the dark,
light that brings beauty to myself
and
then flows out to those I meet.
If
I do not take time to come apart
I
will come apart.
As
I chase the light in order to write
Spending
time in the word, nature and music
The
ultimate light to be chased is God.
Your
eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder
and belief, your body fills up with light.
Matt
6:22 The Message
Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking out of My Head? - grief as an out of body experience
She blogs at: http://whoistalking.wordpress.com
