As the lockdown in northern Virginia continues, I’m counting my blessings and trying to make the best use of my time. Not only for my own peace of mind but to help ease my children’s anxieties as well.
Maybe because I’m a grown woman of a certain age, or maybe because I’ve been blessed to have so many experiences–both wonderful and sorrowful–in my life, I’m not cowering in fear over this national emergency. I tend to be a pragmatic person who tries to view all events with one question in mind: How is life happening for me?
There’s power in that single preposition–that simple word for. Instead of wondering why life happens to me, like I’m a victim or circumstance or bad luck, I always try to figure out what I’m supposed to learn from each situation. If life always happens for me, instead of to me, then that means there’s something I need to learn now in order to push forward with my goals and dreams and desires.
With that in mind, I’ve been re-reading my favorite self-help and productivity books (see the list here) as well as re-visiting all of my favorite creativity and art books. While I’m a professional scientific librarian with all the necessary degrees, I’ve always had a creative side. A creative side that, luckily, my parents recognized and fostered from the time I was a child.
Over the years I’ve struggled to balance living overseas with my husband (a former Army officer), working in pharmaceutical laboratories, raising twins, running a wedding gown design business, teaching art in our local elementary school, and becoming a published author. Along the way I’ve struggled with writer’s block, fear of failure, and creative resistance in all its forms. And the books below are the ones I always return to–again and again–to regain my focus and help solidify the visions I have for my future self.
As my children grow and mature, I’ve shared these tools with them as well.
All of these books require some kind of work–journaling, artist dates, or just plain thinking in silence. All of which can be done regardless of your level of quarantine or lockdown. Because there’s always freedom in your heart and head if you set your mind to it. 🙂
THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron is a classic self-help book for recovering creatives. It’s not so much a book as much as a guide towards uncovering or remembering your creative self. With morning pages and artist dates, Julia gently walks you through the process of helping you figure out the work you were put here on this world to do. This book is first on the list because it’s the most important. It doesn’t matter what type of creative work you do or think you want to do–whether it be writing or woodworking or whistling. The Artist’s Way process works for every person who is desperately seeking their life’s purpose. But I will be honest–if you don’t do the work, the process won’t work. The work isn’t easy, but it is simple. And yes, a thing can be both simple and hard. 🙂
THE WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield is the kind of book you keep in your purse or backpack or briefcase and pull out whenever your negative self-talk tries to take over. With short, easy-to-read chapters, this book walks you through the truth of who and what creative resistance is and how to combat it. The stories in this book will make you want get on with your work and crush resistance like the slimy bug it is. Funny, poignant, and true, this book is one of the most important weapons a creative person can use to fight off fear and leave it cowering outside in the rain.
Even if one is not a writer, this classic memoir by one of the greatest horror authors of all time walks you through the real pain of a man’s discovery of his true self. This book will make you laugh and cry, but most of all it will inspire you to seek out and accomplish that work that you were always meant to do before you lost your way.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s BIG MAGIC personifies art in all of its forms. By recognizing that creativity is a living, breathing thing–a living, breathing thing that requires love and attention–the reader begins to understand where that creative spark comes from and how to fan the flames into the work you’re meant to do.
Most people know of Madeleine L’Engle as the author of the beloved children’s book A Wrinkle in Time. But Madeleine was also a talented essayist and poet who struggled with so much self doubt it’s amazing she got any work done. Within the essays of this book REFLECTIONS OF A WRITING LIFE, she opens up with both clarity and honesty about the struggles of a woman who was a writer, a mother, a wife, a teacher and a person who fought against creative resistance in all of its forms. In these essays, you’ll meet a woman who both won and lost her battles with fear. This book is filled with truths and hope for everyone who seeks out a creative life.
In order to discover our fully-realized creative selves, Rollo May believed that we should turn to imagination and art instead of the cold realities of the world we see around us. This is another classic text about how the creative process actually works and the importance of finding our calling. And that a person’s relationship with his “art”, regardless of what that art is, is like any other important relationship. It requires time and attention and kindness. It’s a relationship that is supposed to last a lifetime and should be treated as such. And that true creativity comes alive when the method of its creation is treated with the same respect we treat the creation itself.
THE SOULD TELLS A STORY isn’t just for writers. It’s an inspirational and practical guide to helping a person embrace their creative work without fear. This book, while discussing the writing process, holds a deeper truth about the vagaries of the creative process and how important it is to respect one’s artistic work. Told in a story narrative/memoir format, you feel like you’re walking along with the author and talking about how your truest desires are God’s desires for you. This is not a sugar-coated tale of success–the author dives deep into her own struggles with creativity and how she fought back and won the battles within her own heart and mind. This book will make you laugh and cry and then leave you inspired to get started on the work God has placed in your heart–no matter how hard or scary it may seem.
