It's no secret. Creativity has long been recognized as a valid and effective therapeutic approach to problems like depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, traumas, concentration and so on. It’s been linked to improving our brain functions and offers its practitioner a feeling of peace which triggers a meditative state of mind that makes it, in my opinion, one of the easiest ways to access this state of “flow with the universe.”
With that said, you don’t need to be dealing with any mental health issues to create art. Another significant aspect discovered on my art journey is that creating (in my case, painting with acrylic, to be more exact) has taught me that no matter what mistake I think I’ve made, there’s always a solution on how to fix it. It taught me that no matter what happens, nothing is permanent, and everything can be resolved. I’ll even go a bit further and say that painting with acrylic has shown me that Bob Ross was right when saying that mistakes don't exist as they only are happy accidents.
As amusing or insane as it might sound, this theory has proven itself to be sound over and over again throughout my paintings and so much so that every time a line ended up being more slanted or thicker than I originally intended, to my surprise, it tied perfectly in my final design.
With that in mind, the need for performance gently faded away. I have been taught to let go of any fears of “messing up,” which, as you can imagine, automatically increased this feeling of peace and allowed easier access to this flow state.
A mindset that can easily be applied to our daily lives, and that I’ve praised in this YouTube video of the series food and wisdom.
This brings us to now. A moment in time when art has taken over my life (in a positive way), and it’s now part of my self-care routine.
I wrote this article in the hope that it will inspire you to continue or start on your creative journey.
Before we go any further, I would like you to ask yourself the following questions;
When was the last time you made art?
What did you like about the artistic process last time you created something?
How did you feel after completing your masterpiece?
Were you judgmental of yourself and your process?
Were you happy about what you created?
Would you do it again?
If no. Ask yourself why?
To be clear, art comes in many forms. While painting or drawing might not be your thing, there’s a myriad of other activities that can be classified as art, in my opinion, like writing, woodworking, dancing, doing yoga and so on.
As mentioned above, art is about being in the flow. Mindful in the moment. To feel each second and minute passing by while either creating something with our hands or moving our body in a way that makes us remove any inhibitions and judgments we might hold about ourselves and the world. It’s about freeing our minds of all these intrusive thoughts that plague us daily and allowing the universe to speak through us, reminding us of our true nature.
It’s about being human. It’s about finding peace and happiness in the present moment.
And if you haven’t found this peace yet or too often catch yourself focussing on all these intrusive thoughts, my friendly advice would be to find an activity that brings you peace.
With that said, this is where I’ll stop for now, but I hope this article gave you a little incentive to start finding that peace, no matter what.
For me, it's art. Painting more than any other activity. For you, it might be different, but knowing you can access this state of flow in some way or another is why I wrote this gentle reminder.
I’ll now wish you all to have a wonderful day. No matter who you are, where you are and where you’ve been.
May you continue walking in peace and let go of judgment of yourself and others. Remember that in the end, we’re all born the same and will die the same. During our short stay on his earth, let’s all try to seek this inner peace and make this ride as enjoyable as possible for ourselves and others.
Thanks for reading, and never stop creating.