Serenity Prayer and Re-aligning to Creative Centre

As a creative-minded do-er who loves to bring ideas to life and make things happen – I have a tendency to take on way more than I really should if I want to keep things in balance… I get everything that I set about doing done, usually – and I am not afraid of hard work, but after a time of juggling and working hard and keeping so many balls in the air – there is almost always a collision point. Double bookings, deadlines that don’t feel like they can be met, back-to-back meetings… And inevitably, the things that drop right down to the bottom of the list are self-care, time to ‘do nothing and just be’, laughing with my babies, and personal projects that don’t necessarily have any point other than fun and joy and exist just for the sake of it – basically all the things that are the fuel and source of creative fire for everything else!

Earlier this year,   Simone de Hoogh (Parenting,  Family and Life Coach, and founder of PowerWood - an organisation positively supporting families who live with intensity Over Excitabilities, that I also volunteer for) shared the Serenity Prayer with me:

God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things that I can

And Wisdom to know the difference

And I made it into a poster that we now all see every morning as we go out the front door…

It has become my mantra as, over the last few months, I have set about re-aligning to a more harmonious life balance.

I am stepping down from two roles that have taken up a big space in my life for the last 4 years – and even though saying ‘no’ and learning to be realistic about my own boundaries and energy levels is still hard – I am already feeling lighter, clearer.

And as I get back to my paid creative work – to get me back in the zone – and stay out of over-load/overwhelm -  I’m also consciously trying to keep the tiniest bit of space for personal – just for fun creative projects. A few items of furniture have been painted, I’ve finally finished the Mildred Hubble doll that I’ve been making for Lila since forever, my crochet star blanket is slowly coming along as I use even the tiniest spare moments to make some progress (the kids after-school clubs are so relaxing now!)…

I do however, need to keep reminding myself of a few things to keep me on track with the fun, “just because” essence of this kind of creativity:

 break it down into tiny bite-sized pieces e.g, - just go buy the paint – that is step one complete! Yay!

 choose something that is easy to pick up and put down, and maybe something that is portable (crochet or knitting is perfect for this!)
don’t hesitate or think about why or too much about how – when the creative impulse comes along – jump on it and see where it leads

remember that it doesn’t have to have a purpose or a point or end up anywhere…  don’t set time-limits or deadlines

 If really stuck for ideas/not feeling inspired don’t be afraid to try something from a magazine, Instagram, Pinterest, You Tube  etc… just explore, no attachment - new ideas always come from just having a go!

These have all worked for me this month! It might be a while before I’ve cleared the decks enough to get back to my creative life in a more complete way. But at the moment, every tiny step along the way feels like a big one - I'm finding joy again in  just creating - and I am remembering to accept the things I cannot change, and have the courage, and wisdom, to embrace and work on the things that I can.