Creativity Is My Peace

Growing up I was one who would focus in lecture by doodling in class, who’s art work would get chosen for school art shows, and would win piano song compositions as a kid. I didn’t create art to win anything or get praised by anyone, I just did it merely to fulfill my own joy without pressure and the recognition just followed.

I realize that as we grow older, it seems we have less and less time to do what excites us creatively. We get caught up chasing that recognition, chasing the bag, and chasing time. We grow comparing ourselves to others to see if we’re on the right track in life, compare ourselves from our past selves, and compare ourselves to the version we expected to be for ourselves. It may be the pressure of me settling in to my 30s, but I’ve decided that the theme for this year will revolve around investing time to build on what sparks my creativity.

I’m not sure it if its just the Gemini in me, but throughout life I feel like I’ve been in this constant battle with myself: Art vs Logistics.

-Going to college trying out psychology and dental hygiene —left to pursue a Fashion Marketing degree.

-Shifting from fashion retail to pursue jobs in biotech.

-Balancing my creative line in beauty and floral design with the logistics and the business behind it all that people don’t see.

It’s a real challenge to combine the 2 and I applaud the people who do it so effortlessly. While I take pride in my logistical aspects, there clearly is a pull and calling for my creativity that I need to explore and have yet to discover.

I have tried so many ways to incorporate both my passion in art with my skills in logistics and let me just say it is like switching temperatures from hot to cold. My mindset constantly is in shift from a creative flow state to analytical every day that my creativity started to become work. It became the kind of work where the satisfaction of others was more of a priority than the enjoyment and creativity I found in it all initially, which lead to a lot of creative blocks.

A book I kept coming across and decided to buy by the 3rd time ran in to it was “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin. One of the many quotes that stood out to me was:

“The reason we create art isn’t with the intention of making something useful for someone else. We create to express who we are. Who we are and where we are in our spiritual journey”.

With this year’s goal to reserve time to artistically create, this book really sparked that motivation to just be open to create for fun, for me.

For moments I feel the need to re-charge and de-stress, I found that drawing, coloring and painting have been a huge help in bringing back focus to my self. Art somehow brings back a sense of grounding with our choice of colors, techniques and time we choose to spend on something that is made for you, by you.

Everyday, I incorporate time towards learning anything about self-help, psychology, and spirituality. The constant wonder of how we navigate through life has always been a passion of mine whether it is by listening to podcasts, reading books and now even through art.

According to the Mental Health Foundation , art “can help to boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient. Besides these benefits, art engagement also alleviates anxiety, depression and stress.”

While immersing myself in the creation of art, I feel more accomplished and grounded from the world’s constant overstimulation, and suddenly the world is at peace.

What have you created lately?

Getting creative doesn’t necessarily only mean you need paintbrushes and canvases…there’s art in almost anything. It might be the art of trying a new recipe, switching up your outfit style, getting creative in formulating datasets and excel sheets, exploring more efficient ways to organize your everyday routines, discovering new solutions to little inconveniences, or even getting creative in storytelling the events that happened in your day. Do what sparks your creativity and get lost in it for a bit.

I’m excited to see what life can create through the immersion of art, especially without the recognition of others but for our own pure enjoyment.

Creativity Is My Peace.

Bet you didn’t notice the slight outfit change, cause these are 2 different museums on 2 different days. LOL …I guess it’s my go to museum fit.

Photos by Guniguni