Nourish Your Creativity and It Will Nourish You! Posted Aug-26-2005
Pieces of Me
One of the first pieces of reflective writing I did for an online publication (outside of my own Web site) was in 2003 for the Soul Food Cafe. It's been nearly two years since I wrote Nourish Your Creativity and It Will Nourish You! in response to an invitation by my friend Heather Blakey.

That essay reflected a space in time for me that fused my past with my present, and like a snapshot from a photographer's camera was frozen in history when Heather published it on her site. It remains on Soul Food Cafe as a milestone for me, and every time I revisit it, I can't help but feel like I'm turning the pages of my own memory book.

That piece, like many others I've written since, are autobiographical words about my life and the significance I feel as I claim my space in this world. If I make it to a ripe old age in this lifetime, I will find value in the writings I've done "all along" in my 20s, 30s, 40s, and so on. Personally important, writing this way allows me to be an observer in my own evolution and life journey. I look back at what I've written years ago and see how far I've come and how my life has changed. I believe this is one of the greatest gifts of journal writing many journalers have already discovered.

With that, I reflect on one discovery I've made about creativity that hasn't changed for me in two years, nor do I ever expect it to. Near the end of the essay I wrote:

I am certain, however, that when we take time to nourish our creativity, it will nourish us in return. And having experienced that generous payback, I can say with confidence that effort given to developing personal creativity is healthy "food" for the mind and soul. •

More Heather Blakey Tidbits...