Journey through the Artist's Way, again
Week 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity, and strange things are happening!
I was prepared for an active discussion from the group after reading chapter two, based on prior experience with identifying and protecting myself from 'poisonous playmates' and such. I was ready for a spirited dialogue addressing and naming the "crazymakers" in our lives. Julia Cameron's point is driven home time and again: if we want to recover and heal the artist within, we must protect it at all costs from those who would block us-"nurturing our creativity lies in nurturing ourselves." Instead, I got real-life, up-and-close testimonies from group members who had suddenly turned a corner and were doing just that-recovering a sense of identity.
My carpool partner from the previous week, whom I had repeatedly begged to give the book's sessions a try, whom had reacted more than a little dubious to his first class, was all bubbles and talk from the moment I picked him up until dropping him back off. "It's been a long time since I've felt giddy about something." The very person who shared with me how someone had crushed his dream of becoming an artist at an early age, was now gladly sharing his past week experiences of 'morning pages' and 'artist dates.' He was planning to celebrate Christmas for the first time in five years, and after forty years of smoking cigarettes, had put them down and was not feeling any discomfort from the decision. And the most interesting part of his sharing, centered around the fact that he now felt a sense of safety with a group of people he had known scarcely more than a week.
The other class-member however, drew the biggest laughs from her changing demeanor. This woman had grudgingly but faithfully employed one of the 'tools' labeled by the author as "nonnegotiable" through the first two weeks without any noticeable progress. But things had been changing internally that were now becoming noticed externally by others. Her co-workers began talking about her glow, the difference in her dress at work, even her new 'bling' pair of earrings. They started demanding to know the name of the new man in her life! What else could account for the new bounce and liveliness within the confines of her same job, they reasoned. They even went so far as to name the mystery man, George.
Recovering a sense of identity through nurturing ourselves and paying attention to the here-and-now, was exactly what was happening, and we have just begun.
We now wade into Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power, and I say wade because we are going deeper. I look forward to re-reading this chapter (one of my personal favorites) and witnessing our shared sense of recovery. I leave you with one of Julia's Rules Of The Road:
Show up at the page. Use the page to rest, to dream, to try.
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Sherry Scott
Goodreads Author
I was prepared for an active discussion from the group after reading chapter two, based on prior experience with identifying and protecting myself from 'poisonous playmates' and such. I was ready for a spirited dialogue addressing and naming the "crazymakers" in our lives. Julia Cameron's point is driven home time and again: if we want to recover and heal the artist within, we must protect it at all costs from those who would block us-"nurturing our creativity lies in nurturing ourselves." Instead, I got real-life, up-and-close testimonies from group members who had suddenly turned a corner and were doing just that-recovering a sense of identity.
My carpool partner from the previous week, whom I had repeatedly begged to give the book's sessions a try, whom had reacted more than a little dubious to his first class, was all bubbles and talk from the moment I picked him up until dropping him back off. "It's been a long time since I've felt giddy about something." The very person who shared with me how someone had crushed his dream of becoming an artist at an early age, was now gladly sharing his past week experiences of 'morning pages' and 'artist dates.' He was planning to celebrate Christmas for the first time in five years, and after forty years of smoking cigarettes, had put them down and was not feeling any discomfort from the decision. And the most interesting part of his sharing, centered around the fact that he now felt a sense of safety with a group of people he had known scarcely more than a week.
The other class-member however, drew the biggest laughs from her changing demeanor. This woman had grudgingly but faithfully employed one of the 'tools' labeled by the author as "nonnegotiable" through the first two weeks without any noticeable progress. But things had been changing internally that were now becoming noticed externally by others. Her co-workers began talking about her glow, the difference in her dress at work, even her new 'bling' pair of earrings. They started demanding to know the name of the new man in her life! What else could account for the new bounce and liveliness within the confines of her same job, they reasoned. They even went so far as to name the mystery man, George.
Recovering a sense of identity through nurturing ourselves and paying attention to the here-and-now, was exactly what was happening, and we have just begun.
We now wade into Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power, and I say wade because we are going deeper. I look forward to re-reading this chapter (one of my personal favorites) and witnessing our shared sense of recovery. I leave you with one of Julia's Rules Of The Road:
Show up at the page. Use the page to rest, to dream, to try.
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Sherry Scott
Goodreads Author
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