Sunday Muse

Have you ever had a time when you just don't feel like yourself? Have you ever felt like there's no more creativity left in you? Do you ever doubt why you are doing what you are doing? Do you ever sit back and ask, "Why?" There's been a little bit of all of that in my life recently. I've had to ask myself why I do what I do? What's the purpose? Why do I scrapbook? It's not just about scrapbooking, but about everything. Some people go through 'spring cleaning', but I think I'm 'fall cleaning' right now.

Last weekened I read an article from the Harvard Business Review. Quent subscribes to the magazine and I hardly read them, but one of the articles caught my attention. It was about information overload. Technology has changed the way we communicate. I'm thankful for it, but there are times when I really crave getting back to the basics of communication, and really getting back to the basics of life. And so the article really made me think about how I am spending my time. I also had to step back and ask myself why I have a blog and why I scrapbook. I've been thinking about these things for some time, but this article was really the motivation behind some of the changes I have been making.

I started this blog because I live far away from a lot of family and friends. I don't want to lug my scrapbook albums when I visit and because we live so far away, we don't get visitors very often. So I created this blog to share what I have been creating. I also created the blog to inspire and encourage others about their own creativity. Everyone has something in their life they are passionate about, whether it's eating healthy, taking care of animals, scrapbooking, or building bikes. I wanted to make this a place where people could come and be motivated to continue on their journey of creating and being true to their own style.

But I think I got lost in my own blog journey. I began to create so I could post. I love posting and sharing, but if I'm only creating just so I can update a blog, then I think there's something very wrong with that.

I really enjoy scrapbooking. I love capturing moments on camera and creating layouts that display those memories. Since last weekend I have been asking myself, "Why do I scrapbook? What's the purpose?" And with those questions came answers. And with those answers have come some positive things. In this past week, I have been journaling before even adding pictures to a page. I want to record the feelings of the events that have happened in my life. Recently I journaled about what it was like to go through the moving process, the emotions of that process, etc. And then later I included a beautiful picture that reflected that journaling...and you know what...I'll probably never post it. Ha! Some things are just too dear and personal to me. So I feel good knowing that I'm creating for ME again. Yeah!

I've also been having a hard time balancing the elements of creating. I feel like I have a lot of things on my creative palette right now. I'm so thankful for the elements I work with, but right now I'm trying to figure out how to use all of them without feeling overwhelmed. I'm starting to find my groove with it all, so I'm thankful for that!

There are always going to be those times when we don't feel like we are in the mood to create. And it's totally ok to take a break. It doesn't mean we are done with that hobby. It's good to step away...it's even quite refreshing! When I go through times like that, I give myself permission to spend my time doing other things instead (like knitting or reading). I'm learning to 'go with the flow' and to enjoy the different seasons of creating. Sometimes I feel like doing a hybrid page, sometimes I do a lot of stamping, and sometimes I even feel like creating a project that involves fabric. I'm learning that I cannot be an 'all or nothing' person when it comes to creativity. We are always learning and changing.

Whew, what a long post...I hope you are encouraged. Be true to your style and 'go with the flow'!

And...BE YOU! *smile*