{Image by Nejella Photo Art}
Today we welcome a new Special Guest Blogger for June – Tania Wojciechowski from manusmade. Tania has a beautiful series of posts for you on how to use creativity to reconnect with your authentic self. Let’s begin…
Creative Life
Like most of you reading this blog, I consider myself to be a creative person. Forever curious, I spent my childhood making crafts, drawing, playing imaginary games, and reading fantastical stories that fed and inspired a few short stories of my own. I learned to sew from my mother when I was about 8 years old, and loved making gifts for the people in my life. As an adult, I continued to sew and make gifts, decorated apartments and houses, and took all sorts of dance, papermaking, and quilting classes. I made wedding invitations for people and gardened and sewed some more.
Creativity is part of my being, and it is how I express my true self.
Creative Disconnection
There have been, however, many times throughout my life where I felt completely disconnected from this side of myself. There have been smaller moments of disconnect, like when I get busy at my day job, or have a lot that needs to be done at home. But the moments that are of greater concern, for me and for everyone who knows what I’m talking about, are those that are bigger – those periods where you find yourself completely drained – physically and emotionally – and don’t have the energy to be creative. For me, these include a period of grieving after my father passed away 12 years ago; the stress of a day job that had extensive travel to remote communities that left me exhausted; the emotional drain of dealing with infertility issues; and the shock of turning 40 (how the heck did THAT happen!) and realizing that I wanted to make some big changes to my life.
Everyone’s got their own experiences and situations – perhaps the big factors in your life that pull you away from your own creative expressions are the busy-ness of life with children, the exhaustion that comes after a new baby, or the stress of moving or divorce. It can also be a series of smaller events that lead to this disconnect as well – a couple of new commitments each week or a volunteer position that slowly takes over your weekends can all sap your energy for creative endeavours.
The disconnect from creativity often happens slowly – I might realize one day that I haven’t sat in front of my sewing machine for months, or I haven’t made anyone gifts for the past few celebrations. I’m in the kitchen less and less, and am finding myself at a loss.
Creativity as Self
I slowly realize what’s missing – not just my crafty time, or moments of creative exploration, but MYSELF. A huge part of me is absent when I am not creating. For creative people, when creative expression has been a part of our lives for so long, it truly becomes a part of our being. Not only does it express the things we are interested in, and lets us be playful for a short period; it is more than that – it is a reflection of our true self.
Creative Healing
Playing creatively makes us feel grounded, authentic, and whole. We see creativity as a homing beacon – when we are feeling at our worst and at our most disconnected, we can (and need to!) tap into that creative energy in order to feel more like our true selves again. Getting out our heads and into our hands – making things, playing, expressing – is one on the most rewarding and healing processes we can do for ourselves. It returns us to our happiest times, and it reconnects us with the things that bring us joy and comfort. And for us introverts, when we feel ready, it also reconnects us to those around us as we start to share our gifts again with those we love.
What are some of the ways that you have become disconnected from your own creativity? How did you feel once you started getting back into the creative activities you once loved?
Stay tuned for more posts in this series as we look at some ways to pull ourselves out of those times when we feel disconnected from our creativity and really explore our authentic selves through creativity.
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Tania Wojciechowski is the owner of manusmade, where she makes modern goods for you and your home from natural materials.
She is passionate about helping people connect with their creative super powers, joy, and their authentic self through creative expression.
She feels most like herself when playing with linen and wool and everything tactile. The more she plays, the happier she is!
I can really relate to this right now. I’m doing big assignments for the end of my Cert IV in Small Business Management Course writing marketing and financial plans due within a week. I’m also planning to move house in the next 2 weeks. Just a little crazy right now.
I remember the time after my Mum passed away – I felt totally shut down emotionally, like a part of myself had left my body. I’ve only really felt like myself at times when I’m creating and expressing myself either through creating. Growing up I did a lot of dance and singing, when I became chronically ill I was stuck at home and didn’t have the energy these activities anymore. This is when the visual artist/crafter in me started coming out, and I’ve never looked back. Creating is so healing and has helped me craft a new life for myself.
Diane – thank you so much for your comment! Those moments of reconnecting with one’s self, with creative expression, are so wonderful. It starts slowly, doesn’t it? You are in the midst of something big and then you find yourself starting to play again – it’s like your body/soul are drawn to it inherently, and know you are ready to play again.
Tania xo