Creativity at Home

When we are creative, we feel alive and fulfilled. Our home space offers many opportunities in the home to be creative, and personalizing it with our own ideas and handiwork allows us to feel more deeply embraced when we settle down there. From knitting a blanket to snuggle under in the winter, to arranging a gallery wall of our favourite art and images, there are plenty of ways in which we can mindfully curate and create our environment.

As I grew up, my granny would mend all the holes in my clothes, make curtains for my bedroom and knit while listening to the radio. She spent hours making and rolling out pastry, creating delights in the kitchen for us all to enjoy. There is something deeply satisfying looking around the home and seeing the wonders of your work, no matter how big or small they are. These small wonders are reflections of ourselves, and often trigger happy memories. They encourage us to be present in our homes, to look at what we have contributed to our space and enjoy the work we have done.

EXPLORING NEW IDEAS

When discussing the benefits of mindfulness, people often focus on stress management; after all, few things help one deal better with the stresses of everyday life than regular meditation practice. But meditation also quietens the over-active mind – and the more clutter-free your mind is, the more space it has for new and better ideas. It supports the free flow of our thoughts without immediate evaluation, and should help people to generate ideas. The main barrier to our creativity is ourselves; our minds editing ideas and rejecting off-the-wall possibilities before exploring them fully to see whether they have any merit.

Just because we don’t know how to do something doesn’t mean that we cannot learn it, no matter what our age may be. When we think about creativity, we often think of making things, and of course that’s part of it, but the real essence is growing and learning. The Internet, for instance, can be a useful tool for teaching ourselves new skills or finding the answers to queries we may have about what materials we need for a project. There are online tutorials for curtain making, macramé wall hangings, training yourself to draw, learning a new language: if it’s an activity people do, there will be people showing you how to do it on the Internet. All of these things can inspire and encourage us to have a little space for ourselves, while teaching us to be more mindful at the same time.

Learning new things also helps us engage further with people in our community. We can join an evening class or workshop if we want to make something for the home, or ask locally if someone can help to teach us a new skill. Skill swapping is becoming more common, such as artists offering to teach a painting tutorial in exchange for a box of vegetables from someone’s allotment. Both parties are fulfilled, and it is mutually beneficial. We can enjoy looking at the end result in our homes, reminding us of happy, creative times.

ENJOYING THE PROCESS

While being creative, our brains are active but peaceful, whether we’re colouring, baking, writing or crafting. You are using both your creative self and your analytical self, and as you fully engage your mind, you are acting without agenda; it happens without noticing it. Sometimes the things that we make without over-thinking are the ones that we are most proud of and that others seem to appreciate more. Maybe this is because we enter a meditative state whereby we can shut off our inner critic, and just allow ourselves to be. This present moment awareness can help us overcome difficult thoughts, keeping us balanced and attuned with the positive, vital and happy aspects of ourselves. Making and displaying the objects that we create in this mindset can lead to feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment every time we pass by them; a regular reminder of the meditative moments we spent making them with such care.

Projects don’t always turn out as we want them to. This should not put us off; looking mindfully at being creative in the home means trying not to be perfect. As children we would paint and colour, print and bake, not striving for perfection but having fun. When choosing an activity, remember to enjoy the process, whatever the outcome.