New Year’s Inspiration
Copyright 2009 by Kathy Hughes

“Creativity is becoming the next “yoga.” Its surge in popularity is due to the discovery (FINALLY) that creativity is not just for a gifted few. It’s a way of life and a way of thinking that awakens our soul, fuels our happiness, and empowers our brilliance. Like yoga it stretches us into new places that feel good. It brings grace to our lives because we see the possibilities in everything and become confident and clever in our adaptability. We reinvent ourselves when we need to. Get better at receiving inspiration.” ----Jill Badonsky

You possess unlimited powers over yourself with infinite possibilities to a better self. What inspires you?

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” ----Mother Teresa

When you love and appreciate, it comes back to you doublefold. This includes your thoughts and actions towards others as well as towards yourself and your own creations and creativity. This is where we all tend to be the harshest.

“If a single blade of grass has the power to grow through the ground, one can only imagine the potential power of human energy applied with passion.”----Victoria Boutenko

Passion. Passionate. Put yourself wholeheartedly into your passion. What gives you goosebumps? What have you always dreamed of doing? What makes your heart sing? Research it. Read about it. Take the plunge.

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”----George Kneller

Look at the world around you with the eyes of innocence, the eyes of a child. Always keep your sense of wonder.

”To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower... hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour”---- William Blake

Creativity is everywhere and is limitless. Admire all around you with awe. Pretend it is the first time you have seen what you are observing. Don’t judge. 

“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.”----Truman Capote

What makes your heart sing? What makes your heart flutter? Follow your inner voice and you will find your passion.

”Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.”---- Dr. Seuss

Exercises for your mind! Stretch, bend, imagine with glee and abandon.

”A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.”----Charles Brower

Judgment blows you right out of the water. There are no rules on how creativity should look. That is why it is CREATIVE. Try to forgo all critique. No one has the same handwriting. Why should anyone have the same art? Express YOU. You are unique and wonderful. You were created to express.

”Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up.”---- Oliver Wendell Holmes

We learn so much from each other. Creative energy in groups makes you feel inspired. Bouncing ideas off of other people in a supportive, non-judgmental and caring environment makes one soar.

”The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.”---- Pablo Picasso

Inspiration is in everything and everywhere. Once again, see through the eyes of your inner child.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”----Albert Einstein

This is one of the most famous quotes I know of about using your creative talents. Usually just the first part of the saying is known, but I also love the rest that talks about imagination embracing the world. Don’t hide your creative light under a bushel. Let it shine.


May you have a blessed and joyous NEW CREATIVE YEAR!!

Kathy teaches non-judgmental art and creativity classes at the Kaleidoscope Art Studio in Rantoul on Tuesday mornings and at Hobby Lobby in Champaign on Thursday mornings. Sessions meet 10:00-11:30 and are $10 per class. Kathy has taught art in the public schools for over 15 years and is a member of the Creativity Coaching Association. For more information (and to read past Active Seniors articles) visit her website at www.room200.com, call her at 351-1680, or email kathy@room200.com