CREATING CALM

A Calm Place

I need to create some calm today, calm for my mind that worries too much about so many things, some that matter, some that don't, and some I can do nothing about whether they matter or not.  Oh my, I definitely need to create some calm.  

So I picked up a lovely magazine, The Simple Things for June.  That was a good start.  Simple things are calming.  Or invigorating.  Or pleasing.  Just about whatever we are escaping or needing, simple things help.  We know that too be true.  What's the opposite of simple things?  Well, complex or frustrating or nerve-wracking things.  Irritating things.  Convoluted thoughts, intrusive memories, worries that twist into worries. 

I must not be the only one who needs calm.  There are enough of us to write articles and books about it.  Classes on mindfulness and neuroscience courses as well. This June issue has a feature on Creating Calm.  "When life feels tough, doing something creative can have a soothing effect on the mind and body," is the subtitle. The jist is, we all have a creative muscle and using it is a kind of instant First Aid.  

My first-line creative endeavor is writing.  I often turn to this blog.  But also writing just for me, private writing or prayer journalling.  Writing helps empty the mind and release thoughts and feelings otherwise left festering and unattended.  The benefits of Trauma Writing are well-known, but in ordinary situations, more neutral writing prompts are wonderful.  They are sprinkled throughout this blog. 

The Simple Things article talks about writing when we need a short, powerful release to soothe the nervous system.  Who doesn't need that once-in-a-while? Choose words like shine, grow, safe, water or sky, or whatever you want, to get started.  Write as long or short as you please.  See if you don't feel better.  

The article also suggests moving in dance when anxiety levels are high.  It doesn't solve the cause of our anxiety, but the music and movement disrupt the messages of danger our brains are sending.  I daresay, music alone does that.  The soaring music of Puccini takes me where I need to go; I need to remember that when my mind is askew.  

Visual poetry is one I hadn't seen described with those words.  But it is thinking about a specific place that makes you feel alive, safe and full of possibility. Often a place outdoors.  Write down a few words or lines that transmit the feeling of this place for you.  Then pick colored pencils or markers and write the words in a way that shows the feeling.  Big letters or small, wavy or curvy, spaced out or staggered. Blue for one word, yellow for another, green for another.  This gives us endless ways to be joyfully creative.  I haven't tried this yet, but I'm getting energized just thinking about it.  Which of my happy places will I make a visual poem about?  Which of yours will you?

Finally, this article reminds us that collecting is a creative process.  I love this reminder.  We often feel guilty for keeping the things we keep.  More clutter, we might chastise ourselves.  But no.  It's healthy.  Seashells, handfuls of colorful buttons, embossed glass jars, tiny ceramic figurines . . . whatever. The article suggests decorating boxes for the little things we collect.  My granddaughter and I used to spend long afternoons carefully decorating shoe boxes for our keepsakes, the ones not on display.  I have boxes covered in washi tape, wallpaper remnants, chalk-paint labels and more, all mod podged into shininess. 

Of course, reading can be calming.  If I hadn't picked up one of my favorite magazines, none of these ideas for creating calm would have come to me, not in this way.   Release, recharge, restore.  Goal achieved!