What Robins Can Teach Us
About Mindful Creativity
Hello you gorgeous wild-hearted beings,
Today I am sharing my latest YouTube video with you, where we sketch two sparrows robins together (they are not, Natalie, sparrows - no matter how many times you say and even type it!!). I would love to have you sketch along and share. You are so worthy of spending time on your creativity, and selfishly, we need your art. We need you to embrace that beautiful self-care act of tapping into your creative divinity and sharing it generously with the world (even if you don’t actually share it with anyone and keep it close to your heart - you share that energy, it ripples far and wide!).
If you have been here for even a minute or two, you know I could talk forever about how our society seems to be able to both diminish the importance of creativity, and be completely surrounded by it without understanding the value of it all, simultaneously. We are such contradictive, complex, complicated beings. One of the impactful things that happens when this is an every-day occurrence in society and cultural norms is that we value product over process. Meaning we want to get to the end, to have something to show for the time spent, and often without realising it, look for external validation. And if we don’t have anything to show for it or end up with something that we don’t consider worthy of sharing, then the creative act is something we either can’t do, or is not for us, or is not even worth trying.
We need to talk about this a lot, and disrupt those patterns of thinking.
So, I have a question for you.
Do you ever find yourself rushing through your creative practice, focused more on the outcome than the journey? I know I do sometimes, even still. But I have also made a practice of reminding myself of how our wild kin can teach a profound lesson us about presence and joy.
Life is made up of moments. We unintentionally let moments slip by filled with wishing rather than doing, and doing with thoughts only of finishing. But we can make the choice to have presence in our creative moments. You have heard me say this many times: connection over perfection, but equally true is process over product. When we find true joy and wonder in the doing, we are much less likely to take it for granted as a means to get to a finished outcome. And with enough practice, it is soon the practise itself that is important, and oh my stars, when those floodgates open, you, my friend, with unfurl.
Infusing my practice with wonder has been such a gift, and so I want to share little wonderous practice with you.
Robins, sparrows, ALL THE WILD BEINGS, have so much to teach us about mindful creativity, if we just take a moment to be in wonderment. To wonder about them, to wonder for them, to wonder about ourselves and how we are related, and to wonder how we can move pigment around and celebrate that!
The Two-Minute Wonder Practice:
Find a comfortable spot and take three deep breaths
Choose your wild subject (a robin outside your window, a photo, even a houseplant)
Before picking up your pencil, imagine being that being. How do they move? What might they be feeling? Move your body as though you are them - you are becoming them. Embodying is such a powerful tool!
Only then begin to sketch, keeping your focus on capturing feeling, big shapes, and staying in flow, rather than seeking perfection
After two minutes, pause and notice how you feel - what is one word you could use to describe this feeling?
This isn't about creating a masterpiece – it's about building connection through mindful observation. It's about finding joy in the process rather than stressing about the outcome.
I have a blogpost here with even more about this practice, plus links to some sketch tutorials that can come straight to your inbox.
Remember, you are inherently creative and inherently worthy of taking this time to connect with your wild heart through art.
Ok. Let me know, what might change in your creative practice if you focused more on feeling than on getting everything "right"?
Big love,
Love that wooden pencil tray! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Infusing my life with more wonder! Calling in more connection, presence and play! Thank you for sharing your art as a beautiful way of life.