The Artist Way-Artist Dates

I have been slow moving with the Artist Way but have been working on my writing pages everyday.  Julia challenges us to each morning wake up and write 3 pages in a journal to release all things from our mind that may be blocking our creativity. At first I was like I already write in a  journal everyday so how is this differnent from that?

Well, when I was writing in my journal I didn’t always allow myself to be free and open minded, to release everything that was in my head.  When I started writing the pages everyday and making them at least 3 pages I was able to release things in my mind that I had kept hidden…because I didn’t want to deal with them.

Then I started to read about artist dates-this was a new concept in the form of actually scheduling one day a week a few hours to go out and do something I enjoy. I love to go to bookstores, even if I cannot purchase a book but of course I usually do as I love learning and the feeling of a good book in my hands, the smell of the paper and the atmosphere in the bookstore.  But I started to explore other areas of things I like to do, one of them is going to the museum I love museums but no one every wants to go with me.  I never thought about me going all by myself. So that is my plan to go out one afternoon to our local art museum take my pad of paper and pen and walk around the museum and enjoy the art and let my own creativity flow through.

 By doing the daily writing pages and looking ahead and scheduling a couple hours to do something for me has really opened me up and has helped me with my own creativity.  I have been able to discover things about myself that I thought either I had already dealt with or didn’t realize I needed to deal with.  I have a closer connection with myself….something I have been searching for awhile.

Being a mom, a wife, a daughter in law and a business owner sometimes I lose myself in all that I do each day.  I have rediscovered who I am and I am only just in the beginning of my studies for The Artist’s Way.  I can’t wait to see where else this book takes me in my search for me.

So if you could schedule a date just with yourself once a week for a couple hours what would you do?