I was recently recommended a book, Walking in this World, by Julia Cameron. I am grateful I have read this amazing book. It has reminded me that I am a creative person and why it is important to nurture this part of me.
Do you consider yourself to be “creative” or “artistic?”Many people have the idea that in order to be creative one must have a specific and special talent.They discount their own creativity because of their perceived inability to draw, sing, write, play an instrument, or perform any other act they consider creative or artistic. Some dismiss creativity as whimsical or childish and believe the pursuit of artistic endeavors to be irresponsible. Here are a few creative actions everyone can take, which nurture the soul and positively affect relationships.
- Pay attention to what you say. Your words carry tremendous power. What you say has the ability to immediately change lives. There are people in your life who hang on your opinions and listen to what you say. Create harmony and peace with your words.
- Give. Do something for someone. Anything. Creative energy is life affirming. When you give, the recipient of your gift experiences gratitude. Gratitude heals, inspires, and empowers. Gratitude is also contagious.
- Receive. It is as important to receive graciously. Again, receiving allows you to experience gratitude.
- Clean or fix something. The idea is creativity. When you clean a mess or fix something that is broken, you participate in healing.Healing creates and renews.
Simple actions help you get in touch with your inner creator. There is no such thing as a non-artistic or non-creative person. It is merely a matter of perspective. When you are in touch with your inner creator, you will be amazed with the creative ideas and divine inspirations which come to you. Pay attention and act on your creative whims!
Photo credit for top picture:honey 77 via Flickr, Second picture taken by me (being creative) in San Juan
Connection is vital to a fulfilling and joyful life. We connect with people, spirit, and purpose. When we don’t feel a sense of connection, we feel adrift and without direction. It is so easy to get caught in the trap of trying to please others while neglecting our own sense of self. Re- establishing a sense of connection is not difficult. It may be uncomfortable, or sometimes painful, but not difficult. The two most important factors are to keep things simple and to be honest with yourself. Here are some exercises which can help simplify this process:
One of the most difficult things to do is to find peace. It sounds very easy in theory, but we have a ton of distractions. Some of these distractions are positive, like falling in love or an exciting challenge at work, and some are very toxic, like resentment or anger. One of the keys to a fulfilling life is to remove as many toxic distractions as possible in order to focus on relationships and activities that bring us joy. Of course there are situations and actions of other people over which we have no power or control, but we always have control over our responses.
This is a continuation of the series I have been writing on managing a successful business. Much of what I focus on is service. Providing good service is the number one key to success. By providing quality service, you are able to build trust. With this trust you form a strong relationship with your client/customer. The relationship establishes loyalty and generates strong word of mouth referral. No matter how adept an organization is with advertising and PR, without trust, relationships, loyalty, and strong word of mouth referrals, a business will struggle to find long term success.