As with all things, writer Richard Wagamese guides me as I contemplate creativity…
Wake and watch the universe shrug itself into wakefulness, as night surrenders slowly to day and shadow relinquishes itself to light. I watch this display and realize that the moon lives in the lining of my skin, the sun rises with my consciousness, and the earth thrums in the bottoms of my feet. Everywhere I go, I take that sense of wonder and mystery with me.
~ Excerpt from “Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations”
What a way to describe “reverence” which is the topic of this excerpt. Don’t you just feel what he means…? Watching the universe “shrug itself into wakefulness” is such a lovely bodily way of inviting me into that languid process of entering the day. Reminding me that I am part of the wonder of the world, “…the moon lives in the lining of my skin…”
Just, wow.
In a similar vein, and in my own mind’s eye/ear and nose, I can conjure up the sweet sniff of rain as it approaches me on a summer’s day. In that same visceral memory, I can feel the cool air on my skin, as the temperature drops with the coming shower. I can both see and feel the slate grey sky, pregnant with rain about to fall.
Wonder. Mystery. Majesty.
It’s all here for me.
And yet, when I set out to write, so often it is with a “telling voice” lacking any sense of wonder and mystery, any sense of creativity save for the topic to which I’m turning my words. I struggle with this, and despite many years of writing, I don’t feel like I’m any further ahead. But what if that is just my voice as a writer? Can I stand comfortably in that space?
Creativity is the subject of the fourth chapter in Martha Beck’s book “The Joy Diet: 10 daily practices for a happier life” and the focus of this week's podcast on "Meanderings with Trudy." In it, she addresses how to be creative when contemplating the object of our desire. It’s a pretty helpful chapter and offers us several exercises to show us how to explore and fine tune how we can move toward our stated desire.
I think I will play a little more, looking at my desire to find my writers voice, using her exercises. I’ll let you know where I land.
