Ah. Time. How quickly you fly by my window!

I’ve logged into this blog several times since my last posting, but just didn’t feel like I had anything to say. Keeping true to my 2009 promise, I’ve been investing at least 15 minutes each day in something to enrich my creativity. Oddly, as this has become an intentional habit, my paths are now crossing with like-minded people, blogs, books, podcasts, and articles.

Looking back, my excuse of not having time was just that: an excuse. If you’re in the not-enough-time phase, try this - couple the time you spend not talking with time getting inspired. Commutes to and from work, time spent running errands, and lunch breaks are great times to listen to a podcast or CD (check out your local library!). For me, it turned out to be nearly an hour, 5 days a week. 5 hours to listen to other people inspire me. I normally use my lunchtime to write in my journal (the one fueled by the questions in Taking Flight). That’s more than 15 minutes a day.

Before I go to bed, I usually need to wind down. I now use that time to read through books and magazines for craft/art techniques, which I jot down in a journal I started for this very purpose four years ago (and put down and neglected until now).

It was hard to get into this habit first, but now I find myself needing it. I started one morning commute without my morning podcast and it was as if I didn’t eat breakfast or have my coffee. Listening to other people with a similar focus helps keep me positive and is insurance against my tank running empty. That’s what has happened before- got enthusiastic and then ran out of fuel because I tried to go it alone and with no tools to help me.

So…

If you are really wanting, hoping, wishing, NEEDING to have more creativity in your life, please explore your resources. Take a look at the other blogs I read. I’ve found them invaluable in keeping my spirits up. Some of them have podcasts, too (one of my favorites is the Craft Cast interview with the Crafty Chica- the best of both worlds!).

Cristina Acosta has some wonderful suggestions to stay inspired. I actually cut out a picture of one of her paintings years ago. It was in the newspaper and I loved it. This was pasted into that rejected-until-now art journal. I tried to find her stuff online, but nothing came up back then. Now she has a website and blog and you can go see her fantastic art. There’s a lot of movement and passion in them. I looked at them on a day I was feeling a little anxiously angry and they gave me little bit of a shake and helped re-focus that energy into a feeling resolve instead of resentment or regret. Her paintings have a current of strength running through them that really appeals to me. Her posts on inspiration has great advice, especially for those who don’t even have 15 minutes a day for themselves. For one, she suggests using your cell phone camera to snap a few photos every day. Just to get into the habit of allowing creativity daily. Excellent!

Have you made it past all the words now? Sorry- making up for lost time. A dream and intention I have for this blog is that it will be a sort of message in a bottle, bobbing along and occasionally washing ashore on someone’s island. Someone like me, right now, just starting to venture out into a new chapter and stocking up on inspiration for the journey. If you find me while I’m still just starting out, why don’t you hop on in for a road trip? I could always use the company. We could be like the Muppet Movie. Movin’ right along…