MIndfulness and Creativity

My Sketchbook

My project for 2017 is to spend a few minutes a day drawing in a small sketchbook. Thirty days into the year and I have done it every day. I'm enjoying this project so much. It's a little bit of respite in my day and I get to nurture my creative side, which often feels sorely neglected.

 Mindfulness requires paying attention. I'm as guilty as the next person of rushing through life and not appreciating all the beauty in our world. Doing my few minutes of drawing forces me to slow down and pay attention. Whether I'm drawing a piece of fruit or a Lego figure, it requires my to look closely - to see all the small details I would otherwise overlook. There is no way to draw from life without paying attention to the object you are attempting to recreate. It is an exercise in mindfulness.

I think any act of creativity requires mindfulness. Whether one is creating visual or performing art, writing a story, working on a craft, or cooking a new dish, one has to focus and pay attention to what one is doing. It requires you to be in the moment. Maybe that's part of the reason why creating is such a joyful activity.