Bunnies, watercolors and crystal essences

When creativity rules, there is always something fun to do. Applying creativity nurtures ourselves and heals any overcrowded mind.

I recently discovered amigurumi and crochet. Amigurumi is the Japanese word for knitted or crocheted stuffed animals or toys. I had never held a hook in my hands before and it was interesting to start doing chain stitches, single crochet in rounds and anything needed in order to create a cute bunny. My husband, coming back home, said that it looked like a cat had fun in our apartment!

My home is packed with natural gems and crystals (I am into crystal therapy!). I chose black tourmaline, fluorite and amber to do elixirs and essences: it is very easy to prepare one. Put the crystal in water inside a glass container and leave it at the sunlight for several hours, then put the water in a bottle (you might want to use a spray if your purpose is using the essence in the environment) and eventually add one third of alcohol (brandy is fine!) in case you're planning to store the liquid for more than some days.

Why did I choose those gems specifically? To absorb negativity and purify the environment at home: they are all very effective stones for that purpose. Black tourmaline and fluorite, particularly, protect from electro-smog (deriving from mobiles, computer and tv). Black tourmaline does even more: it doesn't absorb electro-smog, it bounces it off so that it creates a barrier of protection if put between us and the screens.

I took drawing classes about one year ago and every now and then I take pencil or charcoal again and doodle. Last time I felt that something was missing though: color! That's how I began exploring watercolors and poster colors.

As you can see from the not-that-great outcomes I got, it doesn't matter how good we are: we don't need a perfect result, it is just to have fun and focus. Great to develop concentration and overcome stress!

Creativity implies love: my biggest love is writing. Writing helps us to manage emotions and it helps us to understand ourselves on a deeper level and clearing the mind from doubts. Keeping a diary is one of the most effective methods of communication with ourselves: it is important to write without thinking too much about the outcome, let ourselves go and read only when finished. Maybe after several days, when what we wrote might be extremely clarifying.

Applying creativity, no matter how, has a soothing effect and expands our perspectives. Too often I see people limit and judging themselves: few hours distributed during the week are sufficient to be creative and benefit from that on both a physical and mental level.

Letting our creativity run free increases our ability to focus, it allows us to communicate more openly, it lets our talent express and makes us look at ourselves as the very special persons we are, enjoying the process more than the goal.

Creativity on the road

Creation is ready to serve you, if you just be you.

Yogi Bhajan

Three years in the Washington DC area: Italy, the dearest ones and a job left behind. A still life between the scenes of a movie, living the narration among the ups and downs of this new life.

Having too much time to think is like inviting your mind to an overcrowded party where you don't know anyone, with alcohol and maybe some heavy drug.
Philosophical questions start popping up, like: where is my place in the world? What will my future be? What am I missing from this side of the ocean?

Pressure is on us both when there is too much time available and when there is not enough.
Too little time to dedicate to ourselves provides stress, too much time lets us feel how much bored and depressed we can be.
It happens to everyone, because we are human beings and we live in an imperfect world and because time and space give us a life in that world.

This is how we sit on this bus on the road, terrified because we can't see where we're going, instead of driving ourselves or at least enjoy the view from the windows.

Changing seats and adjusting our view would be nice.

I visited the National Arboretum in Washington DC some days ago and I saw these beautiful trees:

Have you guessed they are bonsai?

Depending on the point of view, things can look bigger than what they really are. We put many burdens on our shoulders which make us feel smaller but, if we only allowed ourselves, we would be able to look at the trees from above.

What prevents us to fly? The fact that we keep on looking outside, without realizing that we can just be ourselves and be served by the entire creation. We can seek our own truth, not the others'.

Creativity is exploration, a journey towards ourselves, no matter where in the world we are located.
It is dancing with our eyes opened to see that we are shrugging off blocks, rigidity, fears and depression and also dancing with our eyes closed to feel that it is happening for real.
It is being ourselves, flexible and full of possibilities.
It is accepting what we can't change and finding the inspiration to build what we had not imagined.
It is pure freedom, inner strength, so much transparence that any evil passes through us without touching us while any good stays and blossoms within. Sooner or later, after the winter.

The journey is long and we don't know what there is going to be beyond the hill?
Let's keep on walking towards ourselves, not towards something outside: naked columns which don't need to carry burdens to be who they are.