Just Relax – Really?

It's Mother’s Day today and I was remembering my own dear mum and suddenly a random, tucked away memory hopped out of hiding and bolted into the light. 

In my minds-eye I could see myself returning home from a day of teaching. My brain so fried and frazzled that I honestly couldn’t respond intelligently to my own children, who were in the back seat asking me a string of questions. I’d navigated a day of children calling out, “Mrs Beaumont!!…. Mrs Beaumont!!” and I was exhausted (I’m talking about a class of 7- 8-year-olds…are you with me?).

So, I’m in my numbed-out state and I arrive home and there, looped around the door knocker is a white plastic bag and I know immediately that my mother has called. Once inside, I phone her to say thanks for the six sticky hot crossed buns and she sweetly tells me to make a cuppa and ‘just relax’. Then I say I will, put down the receiver and immediately dive into making a meal, putting out the bins, marking books and planning a school assembly etc etc….

 ‘Just Relax’ felt like an oxymoron for me. There was much to do and so little time to get everything done. So, I kept running with my foot to the floor. 

 For years & years I didn’t make the time for art. I was unaware of how tight my internal guy ropes were becoming and at the same time fearful that I’d be disappointed in my efforts if I did stop and make time for anything creative.

As I look back now to my younger self, I wish I’d had the wisdom to put aside 40 minutes to rest into a regular art practice 3-4 times a week. If I had developed creative art habits, I believe I would have been… 
- more in touch with myself and my own needs, 
- less self-critical, 
- more playful in my spirit, 
- less driven by my cerebral left brain….and all round much happier. 

One of the attendees on one of my recent Collage courses caught her own vision of this possibility.
       "I find it so freeing, and for the first time in my memory I feel that I have             been able to truly express myself in my art. Since our first session, I have           done many more pieces of collage and I could not be more pleased that I             have this in my life. For this, I will always be truly thankful to you Jane"

Creativity is not an indulgence; it is a necessity (whatever you define as creative). Our left and right brains are designed to work hand-in-glove, together in perfect harmony. One without the other spells imbalance and leads to stress and even poor mental health. 

I returned again this week, to Ian McGilchrist’s superb animated RSA explanation of how the creative right brain plays such a vital and life affirming role in our lives. McGilchrist is the author of the acclaimed book, The Master and Emissary, about the role of the 2 brain hemispheres. He reminded me that all work and no play make us not only dull, but stops us from flourishing, holds us back from bursting into the fullness of life and discovering all that we are designed to be. (Do check out the animation talk it’s brilliant).

So, on this special day, I’m reminded to make a shout out to myself (and anyone who will listen), to make time to play, make and create, get curious, daydream and keep falling in love with the world around me.