On Becoming an Artist Reinventing Yourself through Mindful Creativity

Chapter 1 A Life of Mindful Creativity "What attracted me was less art itself than the artist's life and all that it meant for me: the idea of creativity and freedom of expression and action. I had been attracted to painting and drawing for a long time, but it was not an irresistible passion; what I wanted, at all costs, was to escape the monotony of life." - Pierre Bonnard All of us have had the experience of being totally engaged in somethinga movie, an afternoon of adventure, or a new love affairand, like Bonnard, we seek lives steeped in such experiences. Bonnard found creative engagement in painting and lived a rich life that many dream of and most consider the realm of only a few special, talented people. That belief, however, is wrong. Complete, creative engagement in all that we do is the natural response to our world; it need not be extraordinary at all. It is, in fact, the experience we have when we are at play. Whether it's at play or in a more serious pursuit, if we approach the opportunity at hand creatively, we will experience such engagement. In the best of all worlds, a life of total engagement would be the norm, although in reality too many of us don't see the opportunity before us. What's more, we seem to do everything possible to prevent it from happening. Too much of the time, we are not seeing, hearing, tasting, or experiencing what would turn lives troubled by boredom and loneliness into lives that are rich and exciting. We unwittingly give up our potential for creative endeavor and in the process live sealed in unlived lives, where monotony is the rule rather than the exception. Creativity is not a blessing some special few are born with or receive from above. Our creative nature is an integral part of our daily lives, expressed through our culture, our language, and even our most mundane activities. "Art," wrote the painter Robert Henri, "when really understood is the province of every human being." This book is about the roadblocks that stand in the way of our natural creativity. It is intended to be a guide to opening up to creative engagement on a daily basis in all that we do. Imagine being very hungry and wandering into a room with a table full of delicious food. If the room were empty of people, none of us would need any extra motivation. We would taste some of everything, eat what we liked, and enjoy the feast. But fill the room with people and we would face a host of concerns that would give us pause: how the others might judge us if we filled our plates; whether we shouldn't, given the circumstances, watch our weight instead of eating heartily; or whether to listen to the judgments of others about the merits of a particular dish. Faced with such socially induced concerns, we might well remain hungry. In the same way, there are socially constructed roadblocks that keep us from experiencing our creative selves. While some may argue that it is a good thing to learn to curb our appetite at times, I don't think any would argue that it is to our benefit to forgo the pleasure of our natural creativity. Engaging our creativity more fully, giving it a form that holds some innate interest, ought be part of everyday life for each of us. How often have we neglected activities like art, music, writing, danceor a host of other creative endeavorsas we pursue careers and families? We might regretfully add them to the list of things we'll get to later, but we think little about why we are doing so. Then one day we realize that now is yesterday's later. We typically regard such creative pursuits as "leisure" activities, and that word suggests they are rather unimportant. They may well, however, hold the key to the problem of fiLanger, Ellen J. is the author of 'On Becoming an Artist Reinventing Yourself through Mindful Creativity', published 2006 under ISBN 9780345456304 and ISBN 0345456300.