I am on a journey to be the best Naomi I can be. I want to be the highest version of myself every day, in every moment. And that means switching some of the negative messages I’ve got filed away in my head.
I just learned from Brené Brown (in Part 2 of her e-course) that as children, we are rather uninhibited in our creating, but somewhere around age 9 or 10, we start to incorporate messages from society around us and we begin to censor ourself. Huh. At first I thought, “I don’t think I censor myself. Maybe that didn’t happen for me.”
As I listened to Brené talk about her own thoughts about creating art, I realized I’ve got mental blocks, just as she said. It’s time to heal those. Perhaps you do the same? It doesn’t have to be with art… it is with anything that you absolutely love doing and feel wonderful doing… but you don’t actually let yourself do it often enough.
It has been a few weeks since I’ve been in our office to paint or create anything. Why? Partly it is because I think that taking that time for myself would be self-indulgent. Also, I compare my end-results to other people’s work and come up lacking. Partly it’s that there are so many other things I “should” be doing.
Making art is self-care for me, not self-indulgence. I’m learning that part of “cherish,” my word for this year, is making sure I take time for the things that make me feel my best. Only when I do that can I truly be myself and find out more about who I am. Like I said before, I am on a journey to be the best Naomi I can be. That involves making space in my days for creativity.
Brené also encouraged us to think about new ways to unleash creativity. We’ll see if I do any of these!
Think about this today: How can you heal your scars and allow yourself to play? Share in the comments if you feel like it. 🙂
Wow! I love the band-aids. What an eye-opening exercise. I, too strive to be the best me I can be. Namaste.
Thanks, Amy! It was an eye-opening exercise. 🙂
Many of the items revealed under the bandaid resonated with me! But breaking through and recognizing the power in repetive creative time as the path to transformation. The permission to play is powerful. Love your list and I hope you share more from the journey of part two! AND I bought the macro lens you mentioned in a long ago post I found popping around your blog. It’s been love at first site.
Debbie recently posted…Raindrops and Heartfelt Lyrics
Oh I’m so glad you got yourself that fun little lens!
Love this. Thank you for sharing bits from the course. I want to take it another time as I just don’t have the time or energy for it right now (struggling to do the ones I have already xx)
Deb @ home life simplified recently posted…15 inspirational quotes on self love and self care
You already do so much, Deb! I can hardly keep up and you inspire me so much! Enjoying your newsletter too. 🙂
You got me thinking about a struggle I am having and I wonder if both of us would benefit if we thought about creative endeavors as spending time with God.
I LOVE THAT!
It’s difficult to enjoy any creative art if you insist on comparing yourself to the true masters. It’s also hard to appreciate it if members of your family tell you you’re no good at it. That’s almost guaranteed to happen when you start out, young and vulnerable, with no experience, and so you’ve not had a chance the develop your artistic skills. I see it as one of the evils of living in such a competitive society.
That’s true. The only person I should be comparing myself to is myself. 🙂
Tap dancing would be fun! I did some belly dancing lessons many years ago – very fun!
I honestly can not even picture you belly dancing. That must have been a hoot!