"All art is a work in progress. It’s helpful to see the piece we’re working on as an experiment. One in which we can’t predict the outcome. Whatever the result, we will receive useful information that will benefit the next experiment. If you start from the position that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, and creativity is just free play with no rules, it’s easier to submerge yourself joyfully in the process of making things. We’re not playing to win, we’re playing to play."
- Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
In our mindfulness practice, we open to our experience, moment to moment, without striving for a particular outcome. There's no destination we're trying to reach. There's nothing we need to prove. We're just here, witnessing and responding to our experience as it unfolds. Breath by breath. Moment by moment. What happens if we bring this moment-by-moment presence to creativity?
What happens when we let go of outcomes, and celebrate the creative process itself?
The creative process can be active and generative - putting words on a page or brushstrokes on a canvas. It can also be still and receptive - sensing gradations of colour or qualities of an emotion. It can feel illuminating, helping us see and express things in new ways. It can also feel frustrating, as we grapple with the uncertainty and doubt of stepping into new creative territory. What if we could allow, even welcome, these ebbs and flows - seeing each moment as part of the creative process?
In our next Meditate / Create retreat, we'll explore this together. We'll start with guided meditation practices, supporting the conditions for creativity by cultivating curiosity, kindness, and openness towards our experience. Then you'll be invited to explore a creative practice - you're welcome to bring your own creative idea or project, or follow one of our prompts. Feel free to bring any arts or crafts materials you'd like (for writing, visual art, music, knitting...). At the end, we'll have a chance to discuss and share a closing mindfulness practice.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Hannah