reaching toward creativity
Over the weekend, I was poring through the early archives of my blog. I first began Chookooloonks a month before our daughter was born. These were the days before “monetization” and “search engine optimization” — the point of my newfound online writing practice was simply because Marcus and I were on the brink of becoming parents, our families were all over the world, and I thought blogging would be a good way to keep them up-to-date on what was happening in our lives. But the truth is, I discovered I loved writing. And because I was pretty disciplined about it (published almost daily, back then), the blog became a pretty great little time capsule of our early years as parents. I’m certainly no Shakespeare, but going through the posts this weekend, I was delighted that I recorded various moments in time that I would’ve never otherwise remembered.
When I texted this line to now-twenty-year-old Alex, who is currently away at university, she responded: “River dancing was essential.”
Memories of little Alex aside, the blog became far more than just a virtual memory book. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: everything good in my life, outside of my marriage and daughter, came to me because I committed to writing and taught myself how to use that Typepad blogging platform back in February 2004. I’ve traveled to faraway lands because of my blog. My book deals came because of blogging. Even most of my closest, dearest friends are in my life because we followed each other’s blogs. And this all arose because I took the time to dabble in a bit of creativity outside of my day job as a lawyer. The amazing thing is that if you had asked me when I was younger if I ever dreamed of being a writer, I would’ve answered no. I had no idea that writing was part of my calling.
When I finally decided to quit that law job to write (and make photographs) full-time, someone who was an avid reader of my blog recommended that I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It was a good call — it’s a wonderful book to inspire making the time for creative pursuits. My favourite passage is the following:
If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. The alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with the junk food, cosmetic surgery, and infotainment businesses, not to mention pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the medical profession from top to bottom. Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine headaches, road rage, and dandruff.
When I first read those words all those years ago, I thought he was being dramatic, but I took his point.
Now, I think he might be right. This isn’t to say that I think everyone should stop what they’re doing, quit their jobs, and do something else. But I do think that taking some time to practice creativity with some frequency — whether it’s in creating art, writing, building something with our hands, whatever — helps us take some steps in the direction of finding what our dreams actually might be. It’s sort of the way the tendrils of a vine reach out to find what can anchor the plant. It might not lead to be a whole new career like it did with me, but it might be that you find a practice that helps to anchor you in life.
So my wish for all of us this week: that we set aside some time to do something creative.
Even if it’s beatboxing while Irish dancing.
Sometimes the body knows.