How do you stay so consistently creative all the time?

Much like an airplane, most of the energy is exerted in gaining altitude and coming back down. I usually use this example as it applies to prayer, but the same is true for creativity. Staying aloft, by contrast, takes very little energy.

Just like activity begets more activity, the more creative you are, the more creative you are inspired to be. It will spill out in all sorts of ways, like putting oranges with beets, or combining things you find on your walks to make ink. Taking action on any idea, will lead to more ideas to take action on. They won’t all be great, but some will energize you.

So basically the answer is to do lots of it. The blessings of doing it will far outweigh the avoidance of it. When I’m creative, I’m happier, healthier, more centered, calmer, more reflective, nicer to be around. Why would I resist that? Bring it on in quantity, I say.

Let your creativity apply to anything, and shut up your inner critic. Doing your idea is the success itself. You don’t need anything else from it than that. Showing up is enough of a win in itself.

And also, I sometimes have days when the most creative thing I do is start flossing my teeth on the opposite side of my mouth than usual. Give yourself a break sometimes and coast. Float for a while; refuse to force it; insist that it be authentic. But then, before you lose altitude, show up anyway with an open spirit to see where you are led, just to keep your hand in. This is where my artist journals come in as a low pressure zone where I can dabble.

I loved this recent video by Helen Wells that I was going to put on my bits and clips, but I’ll share it here instead. She talks about how the more art we make the better our art becomes. Just so, the more creative we are, the more creative we become. Just like practicing to play the piano, the more you do it, the better you’ll become.

So in the meantime, I recommend avoiding being judgmental about your creative output. Simply laud yourself for doing it. Eventually you’ll like the result as well, but by that time, you’ll be more enamored by how it makes you feel: euphoric, and fully present, with everything processed. You’ll find it is not work, but instead, a release. You’ll be so very eager to get back to it again soon, it eventually becomes a self-fulfilling process.

Some Christian Scientists don’t celebrate birthdays. Why do you?

My husband doesn’t celebrate his birthday. He’ll tell you he’s eternal. I celebrate birthdays (unless like in his case requested not to) because any excuse to celebrate each other I think is a good thing. However, I’m celebrating someone’s timeless identity, not a number, which I don’t pay attention to, because that is beside the point. The point is: yay, you are here with us, and this is a special day to tell you we are glad you exist!  I think we can throw out the limiting focus on agism, young or old, while keeping the festival of love. Gratitude and appreciation are never amiss.

What are your favorite kitchen appliances?

I love these and use them all the time:

Cuisinart Air Fryer

Vitamix

Both of these are expensive and worth their weight in gold. Note that we own these and no TV!

What do you feel is the best method for dealing with the belief of personality/personal sense/opinions/egotism/clashing-wills/etc
in human relationships?

First of all, don’t put me on too high a pedestal here; my husband and I at times use a euphemism we coined, “Your personal sense is not being considerate of my personal sense.”

These challenges will continue to crop up. When they do, I find it helpful to remember there is actually only one true relationship, and that is between God and myself (or yourself). All communication is actually within that relationship, and if you get too far from it, things go awry. It is time to pull back and reinforce that one relationship again.

In that one true relationship it is clear to me that I’m already heard, loved, and understood. I don’t need to find it from someone else. It also becomes quickly clear that no one is superior, which takes away any hierarchical or inferiority issues. I am and everyone else is made already complete, with the whole range of wonderful qualities and attributes. Also, it becomes clear that I already have everything I need and already know everything I need to know.

I realize this is true for other people too, and if they need reorienting, God is the one to do it, not me. I resist taking on a false sense of responsibility in straightening them out. I trust God to guard, guide and govern them as much as me, speaking to them in a way they can hear and respond to.

We can’t do anything about anyone else; we just have to focus on what is within our own sphere of influence, which includes seeing others rightly. Not to do so is to break the commandment not to bear false witness. Sometimes what others are parading about is only a mask that needs to be seen through. Is that how God made them? Learning to identify yourself and others with your spiritual senses instead of your material ones helps enormously.

I’ve also learned that human opinions do not have any value. We don’t have to have an opinion (on whatever), and someone else’s opinion is just as much a zero. I’m not so impressed by opinions (mine or others’) anymore. More important, what is God thinking and doing? Usually I’m content to wait out the logic of events, and this saves me much time and energy to spend on other things. And regarding what you yourself are doing, how both God and you think and feel about it, is what matters.

I recommend reading these blog posts which also touch on these issues:

For Improved Relationships, Shine

Get Rid of “Personal Sense” (Deep Think #5)

Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

Destroying the Sins of Others (Deep Think #13)

Be Positive and Don’t Bear False Witness

Do you also have questions for me? Ask via this contact page, reply to a subscription email from this blog with a question, or respond on my Instagram stories when I solicit questions there. I’ll answer next time in a post at the middle of next month.