Summer Writing - Go with the Flow

Summer Down Time

One of the nice things about summer, even when the weather is atrocious as it has been this year, is that for most of us the pace slows down. Students and teachers are on holiday and lots of people find their work changes pace because so many of the people they normally interact with are away on holiday.

Since I got back from my holidays, I've been feeling quite chilled out and laid back. I'd done most of the things on my To Do list before I went away, so there isn't anything really urgent that will make me feel guilty if I don't rush and get it done. It will be another couple of weeks before things start to hot up again.

So how am I reacting to not being under pressure? Normally I enjoy having a deadline and really put a spurt on, but this week I'm enjoying going with the flow. There are things I could be writing or sending out, there is more de-cluttering I could be doing, but there's no rush.

Time to Be Creative

One of the things I've enjoyed is the chance to use my creativity in a slightly different way. I've always enjoyed words, languages, writing, but never really been one for craft work or art. But since I began having Reiki treatments, I've become a lot more passionate about colour and a lot more interested in using it. So I've been using my hands and being creative.

Making My Wish Box

The first thing I turned my hand to was a Wish Box of my own. It was something I'd read about in a sprirituality/self-help book. The idea is that you get a box, decorate it, and fill it with lots of things that express what you wish for yourself in the future.

I'd been collecting bits and pieces for it since last Autumn, but they'd been sitting in a big carrier bag in my study doing nothing for months. But this month I finally got round to doing something with them.

I took an ordinary brown box and used coloured card and paper to cover most of it, then embellished it with lots of paper stickers and epoxy stickers, the sort you can buy for making greetings cards or scrapbooks. I decided to make the outside of my box express my wishes too, so I used stickers of things I want in my life such as cats, musical instruments, butterflies, musical notes and even words such as 'Reiki' and 'salsa'.

Once the outside of the box was as I wanted it, I set about filling the box with all sorts of things that had meaning for me, like a little dancing shoe to show that I want to keep on dancing, angel Christmas tree ornaments to symbolise spirituality, and special cards I'd received that show how much I'm appreciated. I even added rose and lavender scented pot pourri to enhance the overall effect and little silver cut-out angels, stars, and hearts.

It will be interesting to open the box in ten or twenty years time and see how many of my wishes have come to fulfilment. Meanwhile, I have it sitting in my study and I can look at it every so often and remember all the special things and people I have in my life and all the things I still want to accomplish and experience.

Creating Boxes for my Instant Writing Exercises

Having done that, I decided to decorate some other cardboard boxes so that I can use them with my students for instant writing exercises. If you've been following my blogs for some time, you may remember me writing about my Box of Delights, a lovely brown suede box which I filled with lots of objects for an instant writing exercise then tied up with a big shocking pink bow.

I thought that there are lots of other prompts I would like to use for writing exercises this coming year, and it would be fun to make colourful, inspirational boxes to put them in, so I've decorated boxes of various sizes with paper and stickers, so that the containers will be a source of inspiration as well as the contents.

I know I could have used the boxes as they are, but what fun is there in a Nike trainers box? I'd much rather look at my decorated version. The task has tested my ingenuity too, as I've had to work out ways to cover up the labels and the Nike symbols. I've certainly enjoyed the exercise and I hope my students will find the boxes fun too, and they will give them even more pleasure when I produce them for instant writing exercises, filled with all sorts of stimulating things - objects, pictures, cards...

Find Your Own Way to Be Creative

If you've got a bit more time on your hands than usual, maybe you could try being creative in a way that's new to you and see what effect it has on you. You've nothing to lose, and you may surprise yourself by how much you enjoy a new activity. Your new-found creative imagination will provide a boost for your writing as well, when you eventually return to it.

So go on! Be creative! And have fun!