Newsletter
The newsletter comes out once a month. The content has an indepth article on an aspect of being creative and news updates.
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Sample newsletter
Change
Recently I was preparing for a trip to Galway in Ireland. It was very much a last minute spur of the moment thing. I decided to travel by rail and ferry instead of flying. This was a) much cheaper than flying by one third b) more in line with my values to pollute less and c) I like slow travel ‘The journey is the destination’.
However I found myself on the eve of my departure flying around the house doing last minute cleaning, throwing items into a backpack and fretting about whether four rolls of medium format film would last my trip. When I stopped my dance of distraction I realised I had a large sense of dread and anxiety about the upcoming trip.
Now I am a seasoned traveller. I’ve crossed two continents in six weeks and travelled alone. I survived LA-SF by train even after a man who announced he’d just been released from prison (for murder) that morning got into our carriage. I love slow journeys and felt as stale as an old biscuit and was desperate to get out of my home city.
So what the hell was wrong with me?
On the train the next day as I spend through the Pennines I began to puzzle out my dread as I became more relaxed and less stressed about catching my connections.
This is what I came up with. We are habituated to the familiar. In fact we are comfortable with the ruts of our life even if they frustrate and don’t serve us well. Change any kind of change freaks us out. This is primal fear of change = woolly mammoth chasing me. Of course not all change is bad and in an hour or so into my journey my sense of dread and anxiety lifted and instead I began to enjoy the unfamiliar sights. My mind out of its usual ruts began to spin ideas about new projects. I enjoyed talking to dogs also taking the ferry to Ireland and taking photographs of new- to-me stations.
So what does change mean in terms of being creative?
Firstly we often resist being creative because it triggers change in us. Being creative has the potential to move us to an unfamiliar situation. This makes us uncomfortable and anxious.
Even though it might make us feel this way try and reframe it. See it as a signpost that you are on the right path and it will pass.
Secondly we secretly have a fear that being creative means that we will have to make MAJOR changes in our lives which is hideously scary. However small incremental changes can bring us into more creative lives, without necessarily having to blow up the current one we have now.
You can work and write your screenplay.
You can develop your talent as and actor and have money to live on.
The Artist’s Way process is the best way of triggering small incremental change, which naturally leads us to bigger things.
I’ve been running a series of interviews on my blog with people who have used AW to transform their creative lives. There’s a sampling.
I’m looking for more people to interview on the blog about their experiences with AW do contact me if you would like to do an interview via email info@creativevoyage.co.uk
News
This is Lo-Fi: Bringing Analogue to the People was an exhibition I helped curate for the Leith Festival. We now have an online gallery.
Resources
www.seat61.com for slow travel inspiration
© Mary Gordon 2011 Please feel free to pass on in its entirety. Do not republish without permission.
www.creativevoyage.co.uk
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