Why wouldn’t I create?

We have this ability to make ourselves incredibly happy for hours

With something that comes completely from within

No outside person or thing required

I pick up a slim black tipped pen

Or a camera

Or a notebook

And write, click, paint,

Walk out into nature

Or drink deeply from my own

Retreat into a home

That we all have access to within

And simply create, alone

It can be tempting to judge

Sometimes it’s impossible not to

But let it be

Whatever it is

And enjoy the process

Healing from within

Medicine to the soul and heart

Art is integral

To who we are

And should be part

Of everyday living

*Header photo is a drone shot I took yesterday afternoon. I bought the drone ages ago and haven’t used it much. It takes time to learn to fly and then more time to learn to get the most out of the on board camera. This photo isn’t great, it’s just a starting point but the perspective and ability to get that perspective in photography, is amazing.

It takes a long time to write a book. And then it takes time to edit, both your own and to pay several other professional people to do the same.

It takes time to sit and paint, to draw. It takes time to create anything worthwhile.

There are 24 hours in a day and we get to choose how we spend it. What our priorities are, and what we value. What is a waste and what is not, of this precious resource, time.

I closed the blog last August because I was beginning a new job and didn’t have the time for art. Or so I thought: But then I became lopsided in my priorities and it showed up in my health.

Time is time, but it is more flexible than we think. Some activities expand time. Art does that for me. Yesterday evening I stood on a small hilltop and flew my drone, taking in the colours of the changing sky and learning how to fly. It felt like I had been out there for hours yet I only used one battery.

Thirty minutes, and I walked back into the kitchen on a high. I get the same thing from writing or drawing or painting. And who I become, is a laughing, joyful person, nice to be around, both for myself and other people.

If we do it for nothing else, we should do it as medicine for the soul. A priceless supplement against old age and infirmity, rigid ways of thinking and the narrowing of the mind. Avoiding bitterness and disease and unwinding the tension caused by being outside ourselves all day.

Have a lovely day. I hope you spend some time creating.

This post was inspired by artist Michael David Mayo who I follow on Instagram. There are times we find the answers ourselves and times when someone else triggers the epiphany. Michael’s post caused me to stop worrying whether I was wasting time and realise how healthy and beneficial art is to my life.