First 9 days of the gratitude journal ~ 2017
Committing to creativity
Apart from wanting to help people achieve their creative dreams, there is evidence that being creative is good for your health. In The art of being mentally healthy, Dr Christina Davies et al. from UWA suggest that two or more hours a week of arts engagement is associated with mental health benefits.
So no more excuses, get creative!
What, you say? Yes, of course, you WANT to … but are you having trouble committing to doing something creative? Or to any other worthwhile pursuit for that matter?
Like motivating yourself to exercise, eat well or change to any healthier habit, sometimes we need to kick start ourselves by committing to something tangible. Creativity is no different.
So how can we get going? Here are some strategies that I’ve found helpful:
1. Decide your goal.
Name it in beautiful, confronting, terrifying, real words.
2. Break your goal into achievable steps
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Making something every day DID change my life
Three-and-a-half months ago, I finished a year of making things. Guided by Noah Scalin’s wonderful book, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal, I succeeded in making something new. Every single day. For an entire year.
I am proud of this accomplishment. More than that, I am changed by the experience.
The tagline of Noah’s book is “Make something every day and change your life.” Life-changing results from merely making things? At the outset of this creative journey, that sounded grandiose. But I’m an optimist and a believer. And now that I’m on the other side of the work, I can vouch for his lofty claim.
When Noah asked me to explain how the project changed my life, here’s how I answered:
Practically speaking, during the 365 days, the project changed my rhythm and routine. In order to get the “making” done, other activities went by the wayside. Some were good omissions, like watching TV…
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7 HABITS TO FIGHT DEPRESSION
Here’s a list of behaviors that can help ward off depression:
eating a healthy diet
cultivating gratitude
creative activity
meditation
maintaining a support system (keeping in contact with people who care about you)
spending time in nature
cardiovascular exercise
7 Habits To Fight Depression
Fighting depression is tough. Thankfully, there are some behaviors that tend to keep the foe at arm’s length.
You can use a simple technique to have a behavior well on its way to occurring automatically within a week.
The technique I’m talking about is BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits.
One trick is to keep the behavior something you can do in less than thirty seconds. By making it short and sweet it becomes something you can do pretty much however you feel.
Another key is to anchor it to something, preferably associated with the habit behavior, you do every day. After every occurrence, carry out the tiny habit.
The third trick is to reinforce the behavior each time you do it. Little celebrations, such as humming a victory fanfare or pumping your fist in the air, release endorphins in your brain.
Depression is a cruel son…
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The best cuppa ever
#kindness
I have been reflecting on the importance of kindness recently. What strikes me is that acts of kindness can be random or intentional, big or small, but even the small ones can make a huge difference.
One stands out for me many years after it occurred.
When I was a junior doctor working at a large tertiary hospital, a number of the rotations required us to do overnight ward cover. These could be gruelling, particularly covering medical specialities where you would be the only doctor in the hospital looking after some seriously unwell people with very complex conditions on a number of different wards all over the site. You can’t plan the work to any great degree as the job is to respond to things that come up and need urgent attention. Weekend nights could be especially tough as the usual medical teams often hadn’t been in to review their patients…
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Flight Path: A Collaboration between Jolie Buchanan and Christy Birmingham
Christy Birmingham with another collaboration … Soar!
Joyfilled Day
Collage by Jolie Buchanan
Joyfilled Day Journal Page
{12 by 12 paper acrylic and watercolor collage by Jolie Buchanan}
Find ongoing collage work by Jolie by following her on Flickr
Tree Branches at My Ribs
Poetry and Mixed Media Collaboration
Christy Birmingham and Jolie Buchanan
Poking at my ribs,
Your fingers were hard as tree branches –
And your mind wasn’t any softer.
You told me to do more, see more,
And my heart fell into itself when you
Said the words feel more.
You played the song of doubt with
Too many choruses, and I forced myself to
Sway along with every oppressive note.
But,
Those were the melodies and I was the girl
Who feared she had no branches of her own,
Who wanted only to build roots with you and
Grow, in a field that I didn’t realize was
Cluttered already with foreign bosoms.
I needed my own sunlight, I see that now, and
You poked a bit too much at the body of
This woman who wants to keep dreaming for more.
©2014 Christy Birmingham
Cheers To Creating!
*****
Christy Birmingham is a poet, author and freelance writer in British Columbia, Canada. Her debut poetry collection Pathways to Illumination is available exclusively at Redmund Productions. If you haven’t been by her blog Poetic Parfait, yet, check it out. You can also find Christy on Twitter.
Jolie Buchanan is a mixed media artist and student; Connect with her on the Jolie B Studios facebook page, Twitter, or Google +.
Happy Birthday Bertrand Russell
Original Artwork: Watercolor and Wax by Jolie Buchanan
Original – Watercolor and Wax
Spaces To Create 