Listening for Creativity

What do you want to be open to receive?

I find creativity communicates with me through things I notice, what glimmers, shimmers, or captures my attention. These things do not always lead to or even contribute to the project I am working on (in fact, sometimes they seem to be a distraction) but I have learned the value of listening.

I have written before about how creativity calls me outside in the snow and the cold.

Tuesday night I went out to take photos of the streets and neighborhood covered in snow. Although it was night and snow was still falling, everything was cast in a different light, the white of the new snow reflecting the little light there was in ways that transformed the landscape, the spaces between trees and the branches of trees all stood out in dramatic relief.

As I thought about my day Wednesday, I knew that I wanted to plan sometime to get out and explore the snow. But I also felt a little conflicted. I’ve spent a lot of time out to see snow and ice this winter, wasn’t it time to settle in for more time writing?

Wednesday morning, I headed out just after sunrise to walk in the snow. In some places, my footsteps were the first on a snow-covered sidewalk. The snow on the trees and covering bushes made patterns with the branches, the light brown of the leaves still on some trees stood out against the darker branches contrasting the white snow.

There were only a few other people out, walking dogs or clearing off cars. I made a point to greet everyone I saw, to remark on the beauty of this sudden transformation.

I returned home just in time for an 8 am writing session, grateful that indulging my enthusiasm for the snow had fit in before this gathering.

The chapter I am working on is about ways creativity communicates with us and ways we can communicate with creativity. As I wrote, I was reminded how creativity offers support and energy in sometimes surprising ways.

The root of enthusiasm is the idea of being possessed by a god or spirit. Following our passions can feel like this. And I am reminded how my creativity invites me to experiences for reasons other than productivity.

The gift of my walk was the energy I felt being out early, the joy and wonder of walking in the snowy landscape, the chance to connect with neighbors and to witness the beauty of familiar scenery under the transforming cover of snow.

The snow offered a distraction from my plan, but it also offered a chance to tap into what inspires me, to the natural world around me, and to the light and energy of a new day. Creativity seemed to know I needed those things, an invitation to settle into my soul, the things I love and want to share. It was a good way to begin my day.

As I am writing about ways creativity communicates with us, I am also thinking about how we communicate with our creativity. It seems to be more about how we show up than about what we say.

How do we demonstrate openness to input, to assistance?

Saying yes to invitations and nudges from creativity shows we are listening, we are willing to take a chance, to pause for a moment. We shift attention from the plan to focus on relationship, on what inspires us and feeds our creative souls.

I’d love to hear from you too.

What are you loving right now?

What is making you feel alive, inspiring you and filling you with energy and enthusiasm?

If you are seeking inspiration, how do you demonstrate your openness to creativity?

John O’Donohue’s poem, “For the Artist at the Start of a New Day” includes a wonderful phrase, “the eros of a new question.”

May these days inspire you with the life energy of new questions, passsions, and inspiration as you travel with creativity.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of creative community through this newsletter,

Kathryn