Creative Outlets

I was still pondering getting out of bed yesterday when Ryan came in to tell me I should prepare to be careful on my commute to school. Apparently we were pummeled with some black ice that either no one knew about, or no one moved too quickly to combat.

While our school was the only one to not call a delay, we did get safely to school and back (with a little help from Ryan) and then I hunkered down at my desk to write for the day.

This entire week is actually a writing week for me. I have some retreats coming up, and I'm spilling the full contents of my talks onto the screen. It's the kind of work that brings the fullest life out of me and utterly exhausts me at the same time. I pour all of who I am into my writing, and when I get going, it can feel more physically and emotionally draining than an actual workout. (I know that won't make any sense to those of you who aren't writers, but it's true.)

Mid-afternoon, as I pounded out a few thousand more words, I received a text from my friend, Amber. (She's the one I featured a few weeks ago on a Walk a Mile in my Shoes post...the one who etches monuments.)

She'd taken the day off, thanks to the surprise black ice, and with her day, she decided to paint. For herself. Not for work. Not for a commissioned project. Just a fun painting she could do because she wanted to do it. She snapped a picture on her phone and sent it to me, and my jaw promptly dropped straight to the floor.

It was, of course, a masterpiece. Her "quick art" done "just for fun" was a stunning piece of perfection with such soul and character.

I gushed over it, because seeing her work is always a joy for me. (And a privilege. I don't know how many times she randomly shares her art with others.) She thanked me and then confessed that it felt good to paint just for the sake of painting. Just for the creative outlet of it all.

For me, writing is that creative outlet. It's my work, yes, but sometimes I do different kinds of writing just for fun. This blog is a huge part of that creative outlet. It's work to do these posts each day, yes, but this is where I get to just sit back and have fun. I'm working on another project right now, too, that is a just-for-fun project. It may become more, but it may not, and I'm okay either way. For now, I'm just having fun creating it.

In this long month of snow-ice-repeat, I believe we do need some good creative outlets in our days. Something we do not because we have to, but just because we want to. Because it inspires joy in our souls.

(If yours is baking, give me a jingle. Another creative outlet of mine happens to be taste-testing.)

Go forth and be creative, my friends! Stir up some life and joy in your soul!