being creative, real and true to yourself when everything sucks

my grandma has been in the same condition in the hospital since saturday and right now i am completely and totally worn out with grief, stress and exhaustion.  but just because everything sucks right now, does that mean i have to put my happy creative life aside?  i do believe we can be present with the difficult experiences, and  continue to nurture ourselves, our creativity, our dreams and our loved ones through them.  so i am learning a few things about being creative, real and true to yourself when everything sucks:

• taking time to yourself is vital
• even just a few minutes of yoga stretches can make a big difference
• even though it feels like it takes too much energy, taking the time to wear what i really want to wear, including accessories and fun makeup really does help me feel more “me” throughout the day – when i look haggard and worn out i feel even more haggard and worn out
• when things are tough it’s even more important to drink enough water, not drink too much coffee and make the healthiest possible food choices
• having a creative project that you can take along and do anywhere (for me this is knitting my new sweater) can be hugely soothing
• when people offer to help say yes
• be honest about what your needs are without demanding that others meet them
• take mini art breaks – spending some time creative journaling about how i was feeling yesterday really helped me (this can be music breaks or writing breaks or gardening breaks or whatever your creative outlet is – my sister has been singing to grandma)
• daily journaling can help you work through the difficult feelings
• when things are difficult and it feels like my “normal life” is “on hold” (whatever that means) i find i get lots of inspiration for new projects and have no energy to work on them.  maybe it’s because i’m not actively creating and so my creativity needs to be channeled somewhere?  but this is a good time to take notes of all these great new ideas for things to work on at another time.
• phone friends who nourish you
• notice and appreciate how much support is around you
• take time to check in with how you’re feeling – how you’re really feeling.  we tend to go into auto-pilot and just do what needs to be done.  stopping to consider how you are actually feeling can be very helpful.  and this way you are not stuffing the grief down into your body where it will be more difficult to heal later on
• find beauty – sunsets, flowers, artwork.  it’s there somewhere – find, appreciate it and allow it to nourish you
• check out your “lift your spirits list” (if you missed it, you can read about creating a lift your spirit list part one and part two) and see if it’s possible to bring any of your spirit lifters into your situation
  

  lift your spirits

• meditation and bubble baths can be life savers
• cry when you need to cry and know that your tears are healing
• carry a bag filled with special treats, like essential oils, special lip balm, an ipod, an inspiring book, a nourishing snack, a journal, soft scarves and wraps to wrap around you
• go for long walks whenever possible

i’d love to hear your ideas, thoughts and tips on this!

and thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on my posts earlier this week.  they really do mean a lot to me.

andrea schroeder creates creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits, art and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything.

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Tagged as: grief