I went to work on Tuesday still on a high from the sewing I completed over the weekend. I felt so good and wanted another day to prolong the feeling. I guess that is why it is so hard for those in recovery.
This spark is about seeking pleasure. “Your life is full and, no doubt, you have your hands full – with work, family, and other responsibilities. You probably don’t take many moments to check in with your desires because you are so busy working about everyone else’s” (pg.77). “Children seek pleasure at every turn. they don’t need reminders about how to have play, how to have fun, or how to make room for themselves. They know what feels good” (pg.77).
Bloomston asks what about ourselves?
Well? What about it?
I know that sewing makes me feel good. I must get a rush of endorphins when I accomplish certain tasks that my body craves, because I take every opportunity to sew.
Some of the challenge is about allotting limited resources (pg. 78). “Responsibilities, financial pressures, plans” (pg.78) and I would add guilt for doing something fun, “…are the reasons we forget to play and have fun” (pg.78). It is important to pursue creative activities that make you feel good otherwise you will forget how to be creative. Being creative requires practice. I find that I don’t flail around as much, because I am in the habit of being creative and I am in practice. I still struggle with the guilt of taking time to make quilts. I don’t know if I will ever get over the feeling that I am not doing something real. I may not get over it, but I don’t have to listen to the voice.
Ms. Carrie has a worksheet, which I think looks deceptively easy. the really good advice is “Unless you begin to uncover yourself from the bottom of the heaping, mountainous pile of your obligations and busyness, you might not get a crack of time to cultivate your creative self. That is why you need to get in touch again with what feels good, just for you. If you can begin to discover and uncover your desire, you can pursue the Spark” (pg.78).
Nota bene: we are working through Carrie Bloomston’s book, The Little Spark. Buy it. Support the artist. Play along. There is much more to each spark than what I am writing. The original chapters will help you. Go buy Carrie Bloomston’s book, so you get the full benefit of her fabulousness! You can see my book review, which is what started this flight of fancy.
You can find the last spark on the blog a few weeks ago.