A few weeks ago, my friend Sheryl and I started to read The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. The purpose of the book is to help recover your inner child artist, who has been lost by growing up, becoming an adult or from being told that what and who we are, is in someway not enough. And we all know what it’s like to get caught up in the every day busy bustle, to get bogged down in social media/television/the news, etc. To lose pursuit of a true passion. To let insecurity create a resistance in us.
I read through week 4 yesterday and I’m slowly remembering that spark I had as a kid. You know, waking up every day, excited to go exploring outside, excited to create something out of nothing but your own thoughts. The activities in this book have also boosted my excitement about writing (on this website and in my own journal), photography and for activities with Henry.
However, even with the excitement of having a new website and brain storming ideas for it, I’ve let a lot of self doubt and insecurities seep in. I told Josh, shortly after going live, that I probably don’t have a lot of interesting things to say and that there will be people that don’t like me very much possibly reading my posts and or judging my art. Josh, being the wise and level headed guy that he is, told me that you will always have those type of people and that there isn’t anyone out there who is loved by everyone.
The book also speaks to these insecurities calling them “blurts”. Some of the ones that have come up for me:
- You aren’t super efficient when it comes to grammar. Those grammar hounds will read what you write and nit pick every sentence.
- No one will find what you have to say interesting. No one will read what you have to say. No one will engage you.
- You’re not creative or imaginative.
- You’re unoriginal.
And then I read this quote:
“Artists who seek perfection in everything, are those who cannot attain it in anything“
(Eugene Delacroix)
I (and you too) must ignore these negative little dementors that attack my inner artist child. Ignore that voice that tells me what I do and have to say aren’t good enough. I have to remember: never trying means you will never improve. No one writes a NY Times Best Seller right off the bat or is published by National Geographic immediately. Don’t let it stop you from taking a great leap of faith. Trust yourself. Remember what it was like to be a child. Pursue your passion, find your spark and be rambunctious with it.
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