Want to Spark Joy without Tidying up?

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Make art where you find it. Every day. For YOU and for love. This isn’t a Hallmark card, it’s a way of being.

Don’t wait for Valentine’s Day!

Deliberate creative acts, even small ones, feed your spirit. Do it with heart shaped strawberries or whatever inspires you. Make art – broadly defined- to create your best, most authentic life.

At most, it took an extra minute to decorate my husband’s breakfast plate as shown. The choice to do so made me smile, made him feel special, and added a little extra, out of the green box beauty, to our St. Patrick’s Day morning. Triple win.

Truth in advertising: I’m hardly an apron-clad housewife, looking for all the ways I can please my man. Most days I barely get Cheerios in a bowl for myself. Does he eat breakfast on those days? I don’t know! This post isn’t about being a good partner, at least not directly.

It’s about nurturing your creative spirit and watching your world transform!

When you cultivate a creative mindset, every day offers opportunities to make something new, to see the world with fresh eyes and an open heart. A creative approach to life changes everything.

And that’s not all…

When you find ways to share your art with others, you contribute to the pool of love. In case you hadn’t heard: love is the best antidote to fear. Don’t you want to feel less afraid? More joyful?

Making art (cultivating a creative mindset) is a form of self-love; sharing is how you spread love to others. Not everyone will feel the love, but even if one person does, the ripple effect may create a wave of goodwill. Don’t you think we need more of that?

Need more examples, more explanation?

Read more about #makeartwhereyoufindit here.

9 thoughts on “Want to Spark Joy without Tidying up?”

  2. very inspiring post and one that resonates with me to boot! it reprises a converation i recently had with someone about the presence or abence of joy in one’s life. your post reminds me that joy isn’t perhaps best thought of as emergent property of our lives but rather an awakening factor that needs to be cultivated. it’s not that joy is not present (‘make art [joy] where you find it’), it’s that one needs to look beyond the mundane, the perceptive process we have always had and that we bring to every encounter, so that we can look with beginner’s mind at everything–and maybe see for the first time.

    ed

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    • Yes! “An awakening factor that needs to be cultivated.” Perfectly stated 💚 The MAKE part of #makeartwhereyoufindit is very deliberate. So is the word FIND. Because we are ‘making’ by our ‘finding.’ The candle illumines what was already there.

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    • That’s a very exciting observation, Ed.

      It puts me in mind of certain ideas you find in Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism — as well as in the writings of some Western and Middle Eastern mystics. The notion — for lack of a better generalization — that the difference between “enlightenment” and “non-enlightenment” is simply a shift in how one sees or experiences things.

      In Buddhism, the idea is sometimes a bit cryptically illustrated as crossing a river on a raft only to find that the far bank is the same as the bank you left. Nothing has changed — and everything has changed.

      Of course, the enlightened state is reputed to be blissful.

      I myself wouldn’t know much about any of this beyond what I’ve been told. It does seem to me, though, that thinking of joy as a shift in perception makes more sense than thinking of it as an emergent property. Thanks for that!

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  3. Amanda-
    What a beautiful post! I really wish more people in the world could recognize that creativity can be a self-love (that they deserve) AND a sharing of love with others.
    A creative act doesn’t need to be perfect or a big production. Yet, it is a balm, as you say.
    So many people tell me that they would paint “if they had the talent” or that they always wanted to paint with watercolors but “they’re not artists”. It often makes me sad that so many people deny themselves the chance to give creativity a try. I wish they could put their fears aside briefly to try something that might make them feel alive and fulfilled.
    Honestly, I believe that everyone (if they want to) can learn to be creative and learn to paint. If they can take the first small step, and be encouraged, they will hopefully enjoy themselves and continue.

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    • Thank you, Lee. Of course I agree with all you’re saying, and so appreciate you adding your thoughts! I share my imperfect journey as an artist partly to inspire others, hoping folks might realize that creative efforts don’t need to be perfect to be worthy. Some of my favorite paintings are technically very poor (I know enough about technique to know). But I still enjoy looking at (some of) them and can experience the energy of the work around the imperfections. Even if my painting “talent” never amounts to anything beyond a hobby I enjoy, I can celebrate my evolution (and learn new things, as I have from YOU).
      And then there are so many non-traditional ways of being creative, often overlooked because people have decided they aren’t that type of person. I know, I’m preaching to the choir. But as you may be able to tell, I’m very passionate about this topic 😁 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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