I had one of those moments the other day - when you see the leaves falling from the trees or hear a child giggle - and it sparks a distinct memory from your past.
I remembered 3 years ago this month...I was going through one of the more stressful weeks in my life.
The project I had been hired on to design and build for 30,000 customers in my corporate job was one week away from launching. I wasn’t sleeping very well, waking up several times a night from anxiety dreams about things going wrong. Tim was also under a lot of stress at work - coming home exhausted and irritable. It took all I could muster to heat up leftover pizza and slap it on a plate for us to scarf down before face planting into bed each night.
During that same time, I was also running this site on the side and I had committed to myself to post 2 dabbles every week.
I am so glad I made that commitment, because it is ultimately what got me through that stressful time and transformed it into one of the most exciting times instead.
After a week of the pizza face plant routine, I dug in and re-committed to my practice of dabbling and posting them on my blog. I allocated a few hours in the evenings and weekends to play and see where my curiosity took me. And within a matter of days, where I once had tunnel vision morphed into 360 degree High Definition.
My morning headaches were gone.
My sleep improved.
My anxious, shallow breathing slowed and dropped back into my belly.
My chatter brain calmed and I was able to see the beauty of the present moment again.
My creative juices really started flowing again.
I was taking on more work, but at the same time getting more done. On top of that, what normally took me hours to complete was now only taking one-third of the time.
Life was still full, but I felt like I could manage it and was inspired to be more efficient and innovative.
I find it fascinating (and a little bit frustrating) that we, as ambitious women who are on a mission to have and do it all, forget how our own creative genius requires creative space in order to flourish. Combine that with our natural desire to give and nurture others, and our ability to manage our stress by giving ourselves space to be creative is all but lost.
Here’s the truth:
When you get back to creating with your hands, you can’t help but remember that you are a creative being - a creator. And that’s what helps you get out of your crazy, overwhelmed and anxious headspace and back into the wisdom of your body. You feel more empowered to take on life. You remember who you are and what your purpose is.
Creative space makes room for inspiration and productivity. A lesson I keep learning over and over again in this life.
So take those 10 minutes to lovingly arrange the fresh flowers you snagged at the farmer’s market. Pause for 5 minutes to bust out your meditative coloring book and colored pencils and get lost in the movement of your hands.
When you dabble in your own creative curiosity, you can more clearly see what really matters in this world. Things like drinking more water, connecting with girlfriends, getting good sleep, and logging off facebook to move your body more.
You come back into balance with what you need in order to better show up in the world. And when you have a clearer, holistic view of your life, the daily tasks and to-dos become much more manageable.
Are you feeling the stress and overwhelm of everything you need to accomplish right now?
Take a moment and schedule a Make Break into your calendar. A Make Break is simply sneaking in bite-sized creative dabbles into your day that add up to major transformation so you find clarity and inspiration in your life again (so much more effective than a coffee or smoke break, don’t you think?).
Start by scheduling just 15 minutes and do something small - take a walk around the block with the intention of seeing beauty, gather herbs to make a bath bouquet, lay on a patch of grass and look up at the sky in wonder, or craft up a cinnamon rose sugar body scrub (it’s amaze).
I talk more about the magic of the make break in this video.
A few minutes of indulging your creative curiosity is the secret standing between a total overwhelm meltdown and blissful deep breaths while you’re getting shit done.
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Thanks for reading! This is the first post in a 4-part blog series on how creativity heals and inspires us busy, ambitious women.
You can read the second post here: The Reciprocity of Sisterhood & Creativity
You can read the third post here: The Secret to Feeling More Connected with Loved Ones
You can read the fourth post here: Making Peace with Enough
PIN IT FOR LATER:
Thanks for this reminder Becca! My food blog is what kept me sane at my old job – after the move I plan to schedule more make breaks into my life 🙂 Although moving into a new space inherently calls for creativity!
Ohhhh the decorating possibilities! I’m excited for you!
I grab a pencil and draw a small area of my environment for 10 minutes…a section on my mantle…a leaf by my foot…the dishes on the drain rack. Whatever is there.
Oh that’s so good, Heather! How meditative 🙂
This is great timing as I’m really trying to infuse creativity into my life recently. I’m baking challenging recipes, making delicious products from the natural beauty course, and even taking a painting class this weekend.
Bravo, Heather! I love the intentionality you’re putting behind your creative time. And I’ve been dying to take a painting class. This is motivation for me 🙂
I love to knit! The feeling of nice soft wool on a cold day is just the best! It also makes great Christmas presents for friends & family 🙂
I’m so grateful my mom taught me to knit as a kid. It’s so soothing and cozy, particularly on a cold day with a steaming cup of tea. Beautiful, Patricia!
I love this! I feel like most of my creativity comes out in the kitchen, but I would love to extend it into other areas of life.
Creativity totally happens in the kitchen, Sara! I’m curious – what areas of your life would you like to extend it to?
When I’m totally stressed I need something to focus on that is therapeutic for my brain. I usually choose a cross stitch to work on, or color a page from my coloring books, or look through a magazine with nice decorating ideas or recipes.
I love all those, Kendra. Very nice coping strategies you got going on 🙂
The timing of this post was perfect Becca! I just went back to the gym and only because I won a contest that gave me an eight week membership. I have so much clarity and energy. I allowed myself “me time” without guilt for one of the first times since Ana was born. So tonight I’ll sip my tea and take out my enchanted forest coloring book and color for the next hour before bed.
Babe, I love it! Yay for endorphins and coloring!
My blog and weekly walks in nature keep me sane. I also like going to workshops, especially the sister soirees, for bringing in some much needed creativity!
Yes, sisterhood time is super key! Loved having you at the last sisterhood soiree 🙂
I used to color in coloring books back in college as a stress reliever but had to use kids books because this was over 10 years ago. Needless to say, I love the trend of adult coloring books.
I know, isn’t it the best?!
In the morning I start my day with chamomile or echinacea tea with lemon and honey. As the day progresses there’s a few different things I do to de-stress: I diffuse essential oils and/or play soundscape music. I also love to watch HGTV shows while folding clothes and play various music while doing other chores. Lately I’ve been getting back into my digital scrapbooking and I’m actually going on a weekend scrapbooking retreat which I haven’t done in so long, so looking forward to it.
A weekend scrapbooking retreat sounds positively divine, Theresa!!
Normal stress brings me into the kitchen not to cook or bake but to whip up a concoction for my body. I’ll make a body scrub, a face mask, bubble bath, a cocktail- really anything to help me give back to my body and treat it well. Because whenever I’m stressed out, it’s always my body that suffers. And my body is the most precious thing I have and it deserves, I deserve, to be taken good care of.
I like the way you think, Megan! I find that, in times of stress, I tend to leave my body. So literally making something to soothe and care for my body helps to ground me back into it. Face masks and baths are my current faves. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve always wanted to be creative but never really allowed myself to step into that. I read a great deal and that helps me to destress and unwind. I used to color a lot when I was younger and a few years ago I did have a Celtic mandala coloring book that I would dabble in. I did find it quite meditative and would love to step into allowing that again. I’m curious about your handmade holiday. A great deal is transitioning in my life. Perhaps stepping into creativity again will aid in my blossoming. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sweet Vivian, thank you for this share! I totally understand this feeling of knowing you have an inner creative soul but never fully allowing her to be fully expressed in the world. That’s why I love dabbling. Small moments of creativity that add up to big impact. A Handmade Holiday is coming up in less than a month! I’m excited to share it with you 🙂
This is great! I often forget how being creative tends to relax my soul. You’ve inspired me to get back to the basics with coloring.
Back to basics is all you really need, Nicole! xo
<3 This post totally resonates with me, Becca. I'm excited for the rest of the articles to come.
I do forget to dabble…and dabbling is crucial for my well-being, this I know. When my creative juices are flowing I am more at my best and where I want and need to be for my sanity (and the sanity of my family). I just get caught up in the business of life…and think, "Oh, I'll 'play' tomorrow." Then, tomorrow's creativity doesn't happen and I'm on the downward spiral.
You've inspired me. I'm going to dabble today. I have a DIY idea I've been wanting to tackle for a while now. I'm going to take the time to just do it today. I know it will feel good…it always does feel good when I take that time for me and let my creativity flow. Thanks for the great post and inspiration this morning. 🙂
Ohhhh, what’s the dabble idea???
And yes it WILL feel good. 🙂
I love your page! When I feel stress coming on I grab my camera and take a hike and snap photos of nature or wildlife. It has been a wonderful way to relax and meditate along the way! 🙂
I love that, Jan. Nature is the greatest artistic inspiration!
I can’t wait to see what your handmade holiday has in store to inspire me. Then I can share my creativity during the holidays! !!
Spending time with my family, writing, reading, taking a walk, and dancing help with de-stress. To be honest, how I de-stress will depend on what is stressing me out, whose around me, where I am, and what time of day it is. But I do know that when I do take the time to play/create/relax, I can immediately feel the stress falling away. I feel more energized and ALIVE.
Energized and alive are good things to feel 🙂
I try and take a dance or twirl break. I also have “mindful moments” where I tell myself to stop and slow down and savor what I can hear, see, or smell, etc.. These are amazing!!!!
Ohhh I love this concept of a “mindful moment” Dawna!
Well I’ll be durned! Two epiphanies from this great post for me! One is that lightbulb moment that I experienced that you are absolutely right; creativity is SUCH a stress buster! I call myself an artist, and as such I have amassed a large number of pieces that I have created. For some strange reason, I never thought of doing my art in quite the way that you speak of, just for my SOUL. Of course, that is a side effect, and one that I have talked about often with my friends, but like I said, I always have a REASON for doing my art; a client wants to commission a piece from me, it’s someones birthday, I have an upcoming show, I want to make some bucks, etc. I don’t ever just say to myself, “Hey, you have been stressed out; TAKE A CREATIVITY BREAK FOR YOURSELF.” Duh! Why in the hell NOT? Doing art just for the sake of my heart and soul? Absolutely brilliant. I am shaking my head in disbelief that I didn’t realize this before!
My second epiphany has to do with the nature of women. In my opinion, we are the creatrix in her highest form. I have often thought of women in such a way; my spiritual path has been one of exploring the feminine side of Spirit.
Historically, (before the current patriarically controlled culture) women were at the center of cultural and spiritual life. We were adored as the literal creators of life itself, and enjoyed positions of leadership, worship and adoration. Female dieties were abundant, and the metaphor of women as the creators of life was complete. Now women struggle for identity and equality and wonder what it all means to be living this life. We pour our hearts and souls into our families, and work so hard right next to the men in the workforce, and still do not make as much money. But we have also found that money, in and of itself, does not make us happy. It does not fulfill that deep longing that we were put here to discover. Women ARE creators. We are embodiments of The Creator. We hold that spark deep down in our physical and emotional center. We are born with that need, and weather or not we have children, we have a need to create SOMETHING.
I have brought up this subject to many friends who vehemntly deny any such ideas. They declare, “Who, ME?? Oh, not me!! I don’t have any sort of creativity whatsoever!” I always challenge this thought, but it is amazing to me how many women not only shy away from this idea, but who run full tilt away from it in abject fear! What is it about owning our Divine Feminine RIGHT to be creative? Why are so many women so terrified to think that it is our birthright to be able to spend time on ourselves being creative? Why would we not want to own that right in every fiber of our being? I think it is societal conditioning, an idea that has been implanted early on in life, that women have less societal worth than men. Somehow the tables got turned on the whole female part of the race, and instead of being worshipped, we have become secondary to men. This conditioning is so strong, that at some point we have come to believe that we don’t deserve to be as fulfilled, happy, and loved as men do. We don’t want to face up to that Sacred part of ourselves because we fear that deep river of unaccessed passion that would change us forever. We are overwhelmed to think that we would be catapulted from the comfortable, mundane way of life that we enjoy and into a world of uncertainty where we may not be as accepted and loved by the men in our lives. Those men might turn on us and decide that we may not be as worthy as we once were. We might turn into that independant and feral animal that our society seems to distain, the Wild Woman. Our men may no longer want us, and frankly, we may not need them as much either. We may go rogue and throw off the shackles of domesticity and gallop with abandon into the forests of creativity. We just might let our hair grow out, wear crazy clothes, take off our bras, corsets, and shoes and become our true wild selves, living like wolves, eating flesh, making babies, and doing nothing all day but self serving creative endeavors. We may do the unthinkable; we may become selfish.
In reality, we don’t really have to go that far. We can face that Wild Woman a little bit each day. We can own our creativity in small doses, while still living in this patriarical culture of work and the dollar and family structure. We can do all of the ‘normal’ things that go into living life in this day and age, and still visit the world of the Wild Woman in our dreams and fantasies by practicing what she would do in small doses. We can become her a little bit, test our fangs, feel our feet in the dirt, and learn to trust our hands like we used to. We can doodle and meditate, craft, paint, bake, garden, decorate, and anything else that MAKES something a little each day, and in this way we can breathe the primordial fresh air of creativity that makes us who we are: WOMEN.
Wow! Thank you for the opportunity to create this wonderful little piece, enter the contest, and visit My Wild Woman today! 😉
Wow! Sandy, you have blown me away with your beautiful reflection about our inherent wild woman nature. Gorgeous words that resonate so deeply with my soul.
I love how you describe women as “creatrix in her highest form.” It definitely seems like your spiritual path is to help awaken the wild woman and divine feminine in all of us. Keep going, sister!
*bows humbly* Thank you, fellow creatrix!
I loved this post. It came at the perfect time for me. I am creatively challenged. I can come up with great ideas, but have trouble executing them where they natch the picture in my head. Lol. I do love coloring as a stress relief. I discovered that joy ten years ago when I started teaching kindergarten. Coloring things with the kids was fun and calming. I love coloring with my three year old too. I’d love to try an adult coloring book. Love your site and look forward to reading more from you.
Great read! I sometimes forget how a simple 10 minute walk can provide me with so much stress relief and clarity. It’s so simple!