Life is art and life is an art, that is, to live it well.
The spiritual path can be taken through artistic expression. I am not limiting the arts to the ones commonly considered ‘Art.’ such as visual art, music, dance, and theater, but the broadest of all possible as art: the art of the chef, of the gardener, the therapist, the writer, the childcare provider, the teacher, the grant writer, the journalist, the winery owner, the ‘anything that involves the expression of the creative.’ True creativity demands seeing the world afresh, without limits of habit of mind or action. A wonderful way to break out of those habits, are to take the mundane, the ordinary, and choose that as your focus of creation – this encourages looking at the world anew, with fresh eyes.
Extend your creative expression today to capitalize on the ordinary – search for it, single it out. Then, do something with that creatively. I strongly that you keep a daily journal, and if you do, then write about something very ordinary today, write about how you make coffee and feed the cats each morning (I will do that!) or something equally mundane. Really describe it in some detail; let go of judgment about it not being interesting enough, and write with the eyes of the fawn – as though seeing it anew. Or, if you prefer, creatively express the ordinary moments in your life another way: paint a picture of something very ordinary in your house or daily existence instead of that spectacular sunset, or the visionary painting.
If you are a photographer, try the same approach, or a gardener, or a dancer, or a cook – let yourself dance with the ordinariness of life by paying close attention to that, and just that at the moment. Try your expression of the ordinary with whatever is your favorite way to express creatively. This will bring you into alignment with being completely present to each moment – those are the moments you are truly alive. This is the spiritual path.
