Create Anyway

There is something that comes alive in me every time I step outside. A release, a soul-deep sigh. It’s more than the mere goodness of fresh air, yet it is nothing shy of it. The natural world awaits with all its beauty and all its wildness. Wildness that flourishes on its own, unkempt, unplanned by human hands. There is a masterful wonder of it all and I’m not sure if I have ever taken it in this much as I have in the in the last three years. There is nothing that draws your attention to ‘mundane’ nature and causes you to notice as much as a toddler. All of a sudden I am aware of puddles and earthworms and snails, I am noticing and learning the names of new wildflowers and birds each day. I am allowing myself to get closer to insects and attempt to identify them as my toddler’s heart is set on knowing who their new found friend is. 

With the art of noticing, I have also started another creative practice known as Nature Journaling. There is not much time for my creative endeavours in this season of three growing littles but this little practice has been filling up my creative cup each week. Taking time to photograph, sketch, research and watercolour each new species has reminded me that I am an artist deep down (I've never doubted that but somedays, between the chorus and chaos of motherhood, it can be forgotten). I was made to create and when I do it breaths life into my bones the way stepping outside replenishes my stir-crazy spirit. So for my artists and creatives out there, I say there are a millions reasons not to but..

" create anyway."

-Ashley Gadd

Read the life-giving book that inspired this post here.