There鈥檚 a fine line between creativity and chaos (and in my case, sanity). I seem to be walking that line constantly, weaving between the need to keep order and the desire to express myself.
Making art, designing graphics and writing are, for me, the perfect meditative practice. It鈥檚 when I lose track of time. Those are the afternoons when I almost forget to pick up my kids from school, when I realize that it鈥檚 been seven hours since my last meal, or late nights when I look up at the clock and morning is closer than it should be. Some people call it being in 鈥渢he zone.鈥� For me, it鈥檚 simply being in line with my true nature. It鈥檚 a light kiss from the divine.
When something comes that easily, I know I鈥檓 doing the 鈥渞ight鈥� thing. This is by no means a testament to my ability, skill or talent, which for some areas is sorely lacking, as anyone who has seen my recent attempt to create a watercolour painting of the face of the Chief would attest.
That said, it鈥檚 no wonder I resist stifling my children鈥檚 creativity, despite the catastrophic mess that ensues. I see the value in it. I know that if they are going to become 鈥渨hole,鈥� they must experience life鈥檚 ups and downs. And this will give them some tools they can use to find serenity when the road gets bumpy.
It鈥檚 not uncommon for me to stumble over paints and brushes, knitting needles and tangled balls of wool and scribbled-upon paper that may or may not contain early stages of a tweenager鈥檚 manifesto 鈥� beautifully detailed, I might add 鈥� strewn from bedroom to living room. Similarly, our backyard needs a daily 鈥�10 second tidy鈥� too, no matter the season. Exuberantly discarded bathing suits, pails of mud and water meant for a foundation to the fort they plan to sleep in this summer and quite a few of my missing kitchen utensils are just a handful of things you will find outside on a given day.
It鈥檚 exhausting, to be honest. While I have one child who is eager enough to clean up, the other is not and she often leads the charge. For those of us who are feeling like you know how to deal with this, let鈥檚 assume for a moment I have put a lot of effort into making this happen and it just hasn鈥檛 taken hold yet, shall we?
Suffice it to say most of my frustration comes not from embracing the creative outlets of my children but more from the tireless housekeeping needed after the fact.
I recently found a discussion board that speaks to releasing one鈥檚 unlimited creativity. It said the basis for creativity is as easy as looking at water running down a hill. 鈥淚t will always find that path that allows it to flow in the easiest way possible to the lowest point or ground state. When a flow of energy flows to the ground state, we say the energy is 鈥榞rounded.鈥� 鈥� Energy flows like water and will find the path of least resistance to flow through the contour of the land to the sea.鈥�
So perhaps I should be focusing on finding a meditative state while picking up after my budding artists, and making some sort of art form out of the necessary housework. Which reminds me, there鈥檚 a book in my bedside table titled Spiritual Tasks of the Homemaker. It鈥檚 been there for about four years.
Perhaps it鈥檚 time I read it.
