“The stringent requirement of a sustained creative life is the humility to start again, to begin anew.” ~ Julia Cameron
In the fall of 1992, I read a book that changed my life: The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. I worked through the exercises, wrote morning pages every day, took myself on artist’s dates, and when I finished the book, I continued to write morning pages (and still do), and I incorporate so much of Cameron’s training into my everyday life that it just became part of who I am and how I see the world.
“Anyone who faithfully writes morning pages will be led to a connection with a source of wisdom within.”
“Creativity is oxygen for our souls.”
We are all creative in some way; we are all artists. But we don’t always know that. We don’t always know in what ways we are creative or how to tap into that creativity. Julia Cameron offers us a method for seeing that is a method for doing. And what I most appreciate about this book is that it goes beyond any one particular talent or artistic medium and allows us to see our entire life in terms of creativity, which boils down to regaining energy and passion to use in all aspects of our lives.
“Creativity is grounded in reality, in the particular, the focused, the well observed or specifically imagined.”
“One of our chief needs as creative beings is support.”
~ Julia Cameron
So I returned to a life-changing book. And I’m passing the gift along. Whether you’re a writer or a painter or a mother or a coach, whether you work in a cube or an office or out in a literal field, whatever you do in your daily life, whatever you feel is missing in the doing, and no matter how many times you’ve tried, failed, tried again, you are an artist, and sometimes we have to just let go and start over. I don’t know about you, but times like these I need to have a hand to hold, and that’s how I feel about Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way.
Posted on Nov 2nd 06 by Verna Wilder.
Verna's joy is helping people find and refine their writing voice, and she does that by coaching, editing, and leading writing workshops. She's a writer and a reader and a lover of good books, good music, good movies, good food. For the past 25 years, Verna has given her best energy to working in a cube; now she's taking that experience and giving her best energy to her clients. Life finally makes a little more sense. http://vernawilder.typepad.com/out_of_the_cube/
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