Reading: The Artist's Way

As I've perused various blogs over the past few months, I've seen several references to The Artist's Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, by Julia Cameron. From what I've read, this book appears to have been helpful to many people who work in the creative arts and struggle, as we all do, with blocks along the creative pathway. The author claims to be able to "unblock" blocked writers, artists, and others seeking a spiritual pathway to creativity. The concepts she outlines are actually in line with my desire to put "order" into various parts of my life this year, including my creative self.

Little did I know that this is not a book to read lightly and set aside: The author actually requires homework, notably writing in a journal of sorts every day (she refers to this as Morning Pages) and making creativity "dates" with oneself (called Artist's Dates). In addition to these tasks, there are additional homework assignments along the way. I have to admit that so far I am intrigued by the concepts outlined in the first couple of chapters and I like the idea of freeing my mind via daily journaling. At the same time, however, I'm skeptical about my ability to stick with the rigor of the assigned tasks.

As a child, I was very creative and highly involved in art and writing, but as I got older, perfectionism took hold and I gradually stopped doing anything of a creative nature because I thought I wasn't "good enough". Only through scrapbooking have I gained back enough confidence to open up this side of my mind again. At the same time, I'm filled with doubts about it being "too late" for me to change my path.

I'm hoping that this book will help me sort through these feelings and get back to who God created me to be in the first place.