I’m excited to be exploring my creative side more deeply, as I begin Walking in this World, a 12 week course by Julia Cameron. The Morning Pages flowed. I carried quiet joy with me as my time naturally divided today between real estate work and creative endeavors. And I felt anticipation as I delved into chapter one.
I know without doubt that I have been invited into this journey, as elements in the first chapter lined up with recent surrenders, thoughts and symbols. Some of my unspoken questions, even, were printed right there in black and white.
As I was reading, I came to a section that compared launching a creative project to firing arrows of desire. Julia asks the reader to imagine eyeing a target as the arrow of desire, representing the project, is slowly pulled back. Overthinking about letting that arrow fly, by worrying about it, questioning its validity, or wondering if your aim is accurate, corrodes the confidence and ability with which that arrow could have sailed. She says, “We forget that intention is what creates direction. If we aim with the eye of our heart, then we aim truly and well.”
Julia suggests we ask ourselves, “Do I want to make this?” If the answer is yes, fire that arrow.
This was significant to me because the arrow is my secondary symbol for 2016. I’ve taken aim with a creative arrow before, and held onto it for so long that I became weary and shaky and lost the ability to let it fly. In fact, I wrote about that very topic in my Morning Pages hours before I read the chapter. My awareness was raised. And my intention. Let fly those arrows of desire. And follow them.
Julia goes on to promise that when we fire the arrows of desire, when we actually start and work on projects, we trigger support for our dreams. I know that energy attracts like energy. I’ve seen that in my own life. I move toward a dream, and it moves toward me at the same time. Even small steps are rewarded with a response.
With those thoughts in mind, I took an exercise from chapter one and expanded on it. The task was to write down 20 small creative actions that could be taken…baby steps, forward momentum, to get creativity flowing freely toward me.
I created 30 actions, one for each day in the month of June. I wrote them out on pretty strips of paper and dropped them into a vintage glass pitcher. Starting tomorrow, I’ll draw out one slip every day, surrendering completely to the creative flow to see what task I select.
I included creative actions such as Read about Italy, Write a Poem, Play in the Rain, Plant a Flower that I’ve Never Heard Of and Add a New Song to my iPhone Playlist. These are fun and creative actions that I can accomplish in a short amount of time. They are 30 arrows of desire that I will fire joyfully, playfully, taking steps toward the creative life that I wish to live.
I’m taking aim. I don’t intend to hesitate.
