Tapping Into Creativity

This is a repost from 2010, my son is 16 now and is not so keen on sketching with me now.

It was one of those days where you feel like a walking accident waiting to happen. Everything I touch either breaks, falls or doesn’t work. My accompanying state of mind was scattered and irritable. I was ready to get rid of the dog and also the fridge. I hoped it was safe to be on a tandem bike with my young son. The bike ride actually was an attempt to turn the day around. We packed a picnic and our little sketchbooks with hopes of tapping into creativity on the banks of the river.

I lead us to a secluded spot by the river and we sat on a dry blanket and ate our muffins. My son seemed ready to participate in sketching, which was great (and pretty cute), and it gave me a chance to draw too. We drew for about 10 minutes (attention span of my 4 year old). I got instantly involved in drawing this fallen, dragon-like log in the river. In that short time span, the focus on an external point redirected my thoughts and calmed my mind. I am aware of drawing’s affect on me, but was still amazed at how much happier I felt after. Like everything shifted back into perspective. My son too seemed extra happy.

It was a reminder also that drawing (for any amount of time) awards us a chance to engage the right hemisphere of the brain, the creative side, which is like tapping into a river of all good things.