Saturday 9 August 2014

On creativity & connection & the sacred nature of the everyday


Some facts about Everyday Life:

1. It usually involves quite a lot of sweeping, vacuuming and preparation of food.

2. Some days can get rather Groundhog-esque. 

3. It is very easy to get lost in our To Do list and forget what on earth is on our To Be list. 

4. The repetitive everyday stuff often feels like it is just keeping us from the big, spiritual, soulful stuff. 

Or maybe it's just me. 

Well, anyway, this is how I see it. 

Yes, things can get very sweepy, choppy, laundry, To-Do-ey. 

And it's all very well reading these books and quotes that say 'meditate for an hour in the morning' and 'sit still and breathe for half an hour in the afternoon' - but I am in a stage of life (with young children in tow most of the time) where that simply isn't possible. I need to find my connection on the go, in the thick of life, while I sort the laundry and unpack the backpack (again).

And the thing is, it IS possible to let some soulfulness sneak in WHILE we are washing up or photocopying or sweeping or chopping carrots. 


Here's how my own personal method: I make whatever I am doing into a mini work of art. Sometimes this means making my daughter's sandwiches into shapes. Sometimes it means managing to complete one stitch in the blanket I am crocheting. Sometimes it means writing each item on my shopping list in a different colour. (Note: possibly my most spiritual tip of all time is Always Carry A Journal & Coloured Pens With You Just In Case Inspiration Strikes In The Middle Of Nowhere.) 

Whatever inspiration comes to me, I follow it, however odd it seems. I follow that creative voice - even if only just for a moment - because I know that it brings me back to my heart, plugs me back into my flow, helps me get lost in the present and remember who I am, reconnects me with the Divine - that creative, flowing energy that is all around us all the time waiting for us to lean into it. 

So next time you make dinner, make a mandala out of the carrot sticks. Or put a song on and get theatrical while you do the washing up. (I find that when Lionel Richie tells me I am his Destiny, even the largest piles of plates become manageable. Again, this is probably just me.)

Our soul and the Love that we are is only ever a thought, feeling, moment of presence away. Follow that creative thought, do something weird, take a moment to see shapes in the clouds and you'll get plugged right back in. 


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