the artist's way

(gosh, i can't believe i have not entered anything since october last! no wonder i'm itching...)

this is a book by julia cameron - an author, screenwriter, ex-wife of martin scorcese. i was recommended this book to read by ann clifford, who has since become a dear friend, who took the time to sit with me and pray with me and help discern with me what path i should take as i go on my sabbatical. that was more than a year ago and my sabbatical year has officially ended december last. and boy was it an amazing year! this book is called "an artist's way. a spiritual pathway to your creativity". it's a book on discovering or rediscovering your creative self and creative path, a self help book for one to start journeying creatively or for a blocked creative soul to unblock.

i loved the book. i was allowed to explore what my inner natural passions are, and i rediscovered quite a lot of loves that i had laid down or neglected for years. mainly the creative arts - dance, music and singing, painting, photography, cooking and baking, keeping fish, basically anything that's full of colors and movement and stimulating. i would say since then i have successfully unblocked, and am truly enjoying myself in my dance class, classical class, and dabbling in photography and painting. even cooking and baking has become more colorful. and the fish, while they come and go (poor things) is relaxing. i've also really enjoyed the opportunities to perform both in dance and classical singing. God has restored play in my life, amongst other healing emotionally.

i must say i can't paint well, perhaps not yet, but who cares, i enjoy it. so it doesn't matter what people may think of my painting, thank goodness art can be very abstract, haha. anyway, this was my very first painting. well, it's actually not much of a painting. it was actually one of the assignments from the artist's way book. to paint a statement that you would hold for yourself and to start living by - "treating myself as a precious person will make me stronger". it is not a self indulgent statement, esp for folks who we tend serve and attend to everyone else's needs but their own, or who may deny themselves pleasures in life in the name of putting christian ministry above all else. (we're called to put God above all else, not the church nor ministry). and God is a good God, who does hold us as precious beings to his heart, and do not deprive us of his pleasures in life that does our souls good, like play. the passions that he's put in us since our conception will never leave us, no matter how much we neglect it, over time it tries to get our attention to treat our thirsty souls and inner beings well. therefore now i treat myself well and as a precious being, and i do experience growing strength from Him, and his love, and his goodness.