Sunday, November 30, 2008

Don't Let Your Shoots Wither Away!

"For a long time, for years, I have carried in my mind the excruciating image of plants, bulbs, in a cellar, trying to grow without light, putting out white shoots that will inevitably wither."

(Journal of a Solitude, p. 57)

I love this image! I think it so accurately describes what can happen to us mommies when we don't take a little bit of time to do something that nourishes our spirits. We have little white shoots of inspiration, energy, passion or creativity and because we don't take time to nourish those, they just wither and we feel lifeless and drained.

Take some time! Get a babysitter, ask a friend to trade babysitting, determine to spend one naptime this week doing something just for you.

For me, if I can force myself to walk into the office/art room and just sit at the art desk, I can usually summon the energy to work on a project. Once that happens, it is self-sustaining because the creative process takes me out of my "I am too tired from chasing the kids" mentality and into a different place mentally. The hard part is getting up and actually making it into the art room. I always feel "too tired to be creative" and like I "have" to take a nap. Once in a while, I sit down at the desk and have no inspiration and the tiredness doesn't go away- in that case, I DO go take a nap because that is obviously what my body needs that day.

Don't let your shoots wither!

2 comments:

Sacha Rosburg said...

Can I say Amen a million times. This is so where I'm at. And, I'm trying to get out of it. It was highly suggested :) I love you. Thanks for this. You are wonderful.

Jennie Nelson said...

Yeah! Are you cake-decorating these days??