One of the greatest challenges for the artistic soul is to sequester time!

Too many commitments crowd the margins of one’s life, spilling unrest into much-needed spaces.

Before you know it, quiet mornings usually spent painting or writing now churn with anxious thoughts. You stop prioritizing what you want to do and get caught up working hard to check off items on other people’s agendas.  Eventually, you find yourself wondering: When did creativity grow wings and fly so far away from me?

I’m often privy to the confessions of over-committed creatives because I teach art-integration classes for educators. Here’s a few of my favorites:

“I used to paint but haven’t for years because my job takes all of my time.”
“I’ve neglected my sketching since I’ve had kids. Now their events are my priority”
“I don’t know where you find the time to create. My life is just too full with family events.”

I’ll tell you where I find the time…I seize the time. And when I allow too many activities to squeeze the artistic life right out of me, I stop and reassess how I can return to my place of peace. Here’s some helpful hints I’ve used to realign my artistic priorities:

• Create a Top Ten Goals Vision Board—this is a wonderful way to explore what you really want to do.
• Look over your Top Ten Goals regularly and check off any items you’ve accomplished.
• Schedule times to re-evaluate your Top Ten Goals and make changes as you develop your artistic life.
• Take out your calendar, day-planner, or whatever you use to organize your life, and schedule time for creativity before anyone else books you.
• If you haven’t scheduled empty spaces, reevaluate your commitments to see which ones you can cancel or postpone. Then ink in artistic time.
• Before you say yes to new commitments, find out how much time they will take, look over your calendar to decide whether it will compromise your art time. If so, say no!
• Plan regular artistic retreats—times when you can indulge in stillness to brainstorm new ideas or work on existing projects.
• Make creativity a habit—something you do a little of every day!

Peace settles in the soul when we follow God’s leading instead of other’s ambitions. He has created desires within us that serve as directional flags to keep us on the path of peace.

Lavender Beauty by Gina Wilson

Often, we want to rush our becoming or get over involved in helping others develop theirs. So, when the discontent churns inside, stop and reflect to discover where you’ve gotten of course.

If you slow down, reassess, and re-prioritize, you’ll find yourselves, once again, basking in your place of peace and creating wonderful works of art!

*Lavender Beauty by Gina Wilson. Visit Gina Marie Art to see her portfolio.

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