I propose that blog hopping be considered a new form of aerobic exercise. I'm exhausted after spending more hours than I'd care to admit bouncing from one site to another, intending to connect with people, make new friends, learn something and attract more traffic to my own blog.
It's fun albeit overwhelming, but beyond that I'm mesmerized by the diversity, ingenuity, originality and resourcefulness that floats daily in the waves of cyber space. I had no idea there were so many ways of expressing mommyhood, so much advice on frugality, so many home school teachers, so many "give aways", so many photographers, so many fashionistas, so many poets, so many writers, so many bloggers.
I love them all and admire the steadfast determination and courage of many of the bloggers who expose their hearts, minds and souls so the rest of us can glimpse at their human experience unfolding. And the level of creativity that exists within the bloggosphere strikes me as absolutely and positively awesome.
It has been said that there's nothing new under the sun. Really? I beg to differ. Each time a baby is born - new, each time the sun rises - a new day, each time an invention blossoms - a new opportunity for humanity, each time a work of art is completed - a new perspective of life and beauty, each time a book, article, blog is written - a new thought expressed. Creation is mind boggling. What can be said about it? I suppose, the same things we say about God - what a Mystery.
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For me creativity just seems to flow randomly, unfairly like intelligence and life in general. Some people get more than others. I don't know why. Where is creativity? There are those who say it exists in the right brain, where imagination resides and fantasy looms. I love hearing that, because I'm an irrefutable right-brainer, for whom details are foreign and math is a language from a distant planet. But what about mathematicians, physicists, scientists and other's who process information in a linear, concrete manner and dwell almost entirely in their left brains? Do their brains even have a right side? Based on all the evidence they certainly do and actually it seems some left brain progress has been initiated by right brain imagination. I conclude that the best creative brain is a balanced one - left and right interdependently co-creating. This means I had better work on that left brain impairment I seem to harbor, if I want creativity to emerge from this apparently unbalanced mind of mine.
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My fascination with creativity has led me to take advice from some very creative people. Julia Cameron, author of many books - my favorite is The Artist's Way - advises us to write three pages a day in the morning. For many years my mornings began with my pages, often going way beyond the suggested three. (I've stopped now that I'm blogging, but maybe I should resume.) I witnessed my writing improving and, at the risk of sounding immodest, occasionally some pretty creative thoughts mysteriously wound up on those pages.
Amongst other things, she also suggested Artist Dates. I love this. It means going out by yourself to just enjoy an interesting new place or an old place, but the idea is to allow the environment to stimulate your creative juices. For me, a little walk in the desert gets my body and mind reeling, though what I enjoy doing the most is visiting book stores in the hopes that some of the talent encased in those books will rub off on me. Don't know how much the creative juices are actually being stirred, but these dates feel wonderful.
This afternoon I'm planning to do something that is fun and some say it can unblock creativity regardless of your favored artistic medium (whether you're a sculptor, a painter, a writer, a blogger - this is good for you). I'm going to draw. I have found that it's a great way to enter a focused, almost meditative state and just allow the flow of creation to have fun with you. The operative word here is - fun. The intention is not to compete with Picasso, but to relax and enjoy. I actually did most of the exercises from the book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Dr. Betty Edwards. Being such a right-brainer, I mistakenly thought the exercises would be easy for me. They were not! But, I can confidently announce that I no longer only draw stick figures and my drawings are a great source of amusement to my family. And what's wrong with making them laugh?
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As you've probably guessed by now, I am a seeker. I am searching for more of all things good, and creativity is pretty much at the top of my list. I wish to be infused with whatever comprises that mysterious gift of being able to make something from nothing, like a magician. I believe it's a way of being close to what I call God, the Ultimate Creator.
Sometimes, I can't believe that I have joined the blogosphere. My inner critic wants to convince me that perhaps I don't belong in it, that it is intended for those with creative spirits already formed. But, I know better. The creative spirit just needs to be nurtured so it can grow and blogging is a fantastic way to do so. The blogosphere is so overflowing with the Soul of creation; manifesting little miracles in the form of words, ideas, games, contests, photos, thoughts, excitement and energy. It's like an explosion of the imagination. I sit in awe and hope that some of the creativity fragments from that explosion crash upon me as I wait patiently in its midst.
"CREATIVITY - LIKE HUMAN LIFE ITSELF - BEGINS IN DARKNESS."
Julia Cameron
