A Few Of My Favorite Creative Things
This pandemic year has been like no other. It so many ways, it has brought out the best, the worst, and everything in between. In the midst of all those ups and downs, I did not manage to get much "work" accomplished. Who am I kidding? Honestly, I feel like in many ways, I accomplished little or no work at all. BUT, in looking back over the year, I realize that my lack of accomplishment actually allowed me to accomplish something that's pretty important for a children's author. Something that often gets pushed aside in our busy lives - Activities and past-times that cultivate creativity.
Many of the hours I usually spend doing my "work" were spent doing things that I love, but things I often don't make time for in my usual, busy life. Things that spark my creativity. Things that inspire me. Here are several of my favorites:
Painting - This is something I've never really done in the past, and something I am not particularly good at, but I completed two holiday inspired paintings.
Reading more - As a writer, of course, I always read, but reading is something that easily gets squeezed out of my schedule when I'm in the midst of drafts and deadlines and general manuscript frustrations.
Watching The Crown - Getting engrossed in a series like The Crown is a pleasure I don't often allow myself when I have too much to do.
Crocheting - I find it such a satisfyingly methodic thing to do while listening to music or watching television.
Sewing - I often forget how much I love to sew until I take the time to get out my sewing machine and begin a new project.
Now that I have taken stock in my lack of accomplishment this past year, I have realized, overall, this has been quite a creative time for me. It has made me thankful for all that "work" I didn't do. It's likely that the hole in life left by the missing work, which I filled with a few of my favorite creative things, is more valuable than the work I normally might have accomplished.
Happy Reading, Sewing, Crocheting, Painting, or Whatever Creative Thing You Like to Do,
Nancy J. Cavanaugh
www.nancyjcavanaugh.com
Oh, man, big crocheter here, too. Soooo soothing!
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