April is National Poetry Month. I participate in Writer’s Digest's Poem A Day Challenge every year. Each day a prompt is provided for guidance. Participants are encouraged to roll with the prompt and let their creativity flow.
Each year for this challenge, I decide on a theme I personally want to explore. The theme I chose for this year is embodiment. What is my relationship with my body? How do I relate to other bodies? How do they relate to me? And so forth.
Great theme, if I may say so. I was looking forward to April and taking a deep dive into this project I have been meditating on for a year now. Daylight dawned on April first, and I was greeted with widespread, full-body pain that knocked me off my feet. I haven't had a “bad body day” like this since before COVID hit. If any of you have ever experienced chronic pain or fatigue, you know that trying to get anything done during a bought of greatest discomfort is near impossible. So, no writing got done. No Care and Feeding of Creativity got released as scheduled. No poems were composed. Even if my muse was screaming at me full blast, I don't think I could have heard her for my pain, fatigue, and discomfort. I wanted to get as far away from feeling embodied as possible.
I was in need of some major self-care.
Self-Care isn't all bubble baths and spa days.
When I teach counseling clients about self-care, I am careful to emphasize that self-care is a) not a task to be added to a list to be checked off so one can feel they're more “productive” and b) not all bubble baths and trips to the spa (though both of those can certainly be part of one's self-care). When I refer to self-care, I mean the non-commercialized version, the back-to-basics of functions that help us mitigate stress and trauma and navigate the modern world.
Back to basics
I present a set of questions to clients: Are you breathing, and how are you breathing? Are you thirsty? When was the last time you ate? Are you lonely? Are there emotions you need to express? Are you tired? When was the last time you got up and moved in a way that felt good? When did you last do something for pure, simple joy or pleasure? I invite clients to tune into the very basic, vital needs of the moment and to take the time to meet those needs.
I would add to this list, when was the last time you experienced awe, and when did you feel creative?
I admit, I am too lazy to go hunting down sources to back this up, so before the Internet does its thing, I am stating unequivocally and humbly THIS IS MY OPINION, not fact: Creativity is as essential to life as breath, water, food, rest, and connection. We are creative beings. When we cut ourselves off from our creative selves, we are cutting ourselves off from a vital part of ourselves, a part of ourselves that helps give meaning, purpose, joy, and pleasure to our lives.
How do you be creative when you don't “feel” like it?
I wish I had a brilliant answer for this that will change your life and send you out into the streets shouting for all the world to hear, “Machelle with an A just blew my mind, and life will never be the same!” The truth is, the answer to this question is going to vary. If the reason you don't “feel” creative is that you haven't found a creative outlet you enjoy, the answer will be encouragement to explore different creative expressions without going overboard with buying “stuff.” If the reason you don't “feel” creative is that you're battling cancer and you can barely walk from your bed to the bathroom, the answer is going to be, “Of course you don't feel creative, and I have no right to be giving you advice on how to be more creative at a time like this. Is there something I can do? Some music I can put on? Can I sit with you while we watch a cheesy rom-com? Can I read to you?”
My point is, just like with the other basics of self-care, the answer will not always be easily come by and may not be found in pre-packaged advice on the internet or a self-help book. It may mean taking a moment to check in with yourself, being quiet with yourself, getting offline, and tuning in to your body, mind, emotions (yes, those matter), and, if it is within your belief system, soul.
Keep in mind that creativity isn't limited to the classics of music, art, etc. You can be creative by cooking a meal, trying a new routine, reading a book, memorizing a poem written by someone else, or playing with your kids (for an extra challenge, try coming up with a way to be playful with other adults that doesn't involve competition).
The key to “being” creative is to decide for yourself what “feeling” creative is for you. What sparks your imagination? What brings you a sense of joy or awe? What lets you express yourself in some way (words, music, color, food, movement, entrepreneurship, etc.)? Tune into that and add it to the self-care basics (breath, food, water, rest, relationship).
How did I incorporate creativity into my self-care?
After I checked in with my basic biological needs, I checked in with my creative ones. I WANTED to write, but that was not going to happen. Instead, I listened to an audiobook, read the poetry prompts and let my mind mull them over and see if I could make any connections. I made a Pinterest board with ideas of places I would like to see in Washington State that I could visit on a weekend road trip.
I think the primary benefit of these creative activities was that they instilled in me a sense of hope: Hope the pain would subside to its usual whisper, hope that I could return to my creative practice, and hope that I could travel to those places and experience awe as well as creative inspiration.
How can you make creativity a part of self-care rather than some task to be completed?
Are you focusing on the process or the product of your creativity?
Can you be okay with setting aside a need for “productivity” to focus on what the process does for you and your sense of well-being?
Want to celebrate National Poetry Month?
…or just enjoy some poetry for the sake of it? Check out Poetry.com. You can also explore some of the additional resources at Writer’s Digest that can introduce you to different styles and forms of poetry as well as prompts throughout the year.
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Thank you, and be well,
Machelle with an A