No Reading Allowed

No reading for a week.

You have got to be kidding me!   How can anyone not read for a full week?  That isn't even possible.  I have to read for work - sort of.  Okay, mostly I read emails while I work.  And occasionally check out random stories on the internet.  Somehow, I don't think work emails were what the author of The Artist's Way was referring to.  I believe the object was to not read for pleasure in my spare time.

What does giving up reading have to do with recovering a sense of identity?

Reading is such an integral part of my life, I could not believe I was to go a week without doing so.  And technically, I didn't.  I wanted to finish the silly bit of fluff book I was reading first.  A little selfish, a little defiant (for once in my life not blindly following directions), and maybe a little scared.  If I couldn't read, what would I do?

And that is the very challenge of not reading.

If I couldn't pick up a book that meant I had to find something else to fill my time.  I'd like to say I painted a picture, or sang a song, or even organized my closet.  But, nope.  Mostly I watched television.  And it was not even good television.  It was just a mindless time filler until the clock said I should get ready for bed.

Instead of all this creative energy pouring out of me...I watched TV.

This challenge put a spotlight on all I do to avoid letting my creativity loose.  For some reason, I am still afraid to get out there and try new, maybe crazy, activities.  Instead, I get lost in a book - someone else's artistry.  I watch television when I could be doing anything else.  I have yet to give myself permission to explore my creativity.

I am working on creating a space for myself.

I have a corner in my bedroom set up with a comfy chair and ottoman, surrounded by windows and flanked by an end table filled with my morning pages notebook, pens, some books, a pretty lamp and plenty of room for a steaming coffee mug.  But, it is not really private.  It works for contemplation, but not for creativity.  So, I also started to set up an artist space in one of our spare bedrooms.  It will be a space for me to retreat and experiment without interruption.  I will soon have a room in which to paint, sew, write, craft, learn an instrument or anything else I want to try.

My own private space...it's a beginning.