I am currently reading a book by Dr. S. Dalton-Smith about rest. Sounds like a pretty simple topic to devote an entire book to, but I must admit it is giving me a great deal to think about. She hypothesizes that there are actually seven different kinds of rest that we need. Physical Rest, Mental Rest, Social Rest, Creative Rest, Emotional Rest, Spiritual Rest, and Sensory Rest.
She believes that we as a culture are, in general, very rest-deficient. I would agree. Yet the type of rest we need is as unique as we are and situational and time dependent. In other words, we all need different types of rest at different times, depending on what else I going on in our lives.
As a writer, with three middle grades novels all in the revision stage right now, my creativity was waning. I was starting to feel stuck and uninspired. I knew that I needed Creative Rest.
According to the book, the best ways to get creative rest into our lives is to do things like taking a walk, getting outside in nature, reading an engrossing book- anything that can surround you in inspiration to replenish your depleted creative energy.
As serendipity would have it, my husband had, months ago, gotten us tickets to the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. It happened to be this week, just when I was feeling my creativity resources hitting bottom.
I have always loved Van Gogh’s work. The colors, the texture of the paints. I especially love his floral and nature focused pieces. For those who have not been to an immersive exhibit, you sit in one spot, and are surrounded by the sights, sounds, and movement of the artwork. You literally feel like you are immersed in the painting.
Sitting there on the bench, in the dark, I could feel my breathing get deeper and slower. I felt my shoulders loosen in a meditative-like response. I let the beauty of the art and the music wash over me and sink into my pores.
Walking out of there when it was over, I definitely felt re-inspired. I felt like my creative reserves were a little more replenished. I felt ready to focus on my own creative tasks again.
Here’s to the power of Creative Rest!
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