I’m not a planner; I’m much more the spontaneous type.  But what I have found is that while the spontaneity can be exciting and free, there is another side to it.  When I leave things to spontaneity often my dreams of having massive create time to myself do not materialize.  Instead “priorities” dominate and plans dictate how my time is spent.

It seems to be the way our system works in this world- timing is everything, as in things that are scheduled in take precedence over things that are not.

When I first started writing this blog I did not consider myself a “writer”, but as time went on and I wrote weekly, pretty much sticking to the same schedule, my writing side began to surface with more and more confidence.  I was giving my writing voice space.  My words, what I wrote about were still spontaneous- I wrote and still write whatever strikes me each week.

When I was younger, it was not such a big deal, spontaneity worked for my creativity. And it still does, to an extent.  Time was not an issue back then. But now that I am all grown-up with more responsibilities I see the merit in scheduling in more than just work, or chores or errands.

At the risk of sounding absurd I believe we need to schedule in our spontaneity.  Yes that’s right! We need to give our selves the space for our creative voice to be heard, our process to be heard, even if only by ourselves.  Waiting for this to happen in the haphazard busy world that we live in is a death sentence to our creativity.  Sounds weird- even contradictory doesn’t it?

But the truth is being spontaneous doesn’t always work.  At least this has been my experience.  Perhaps it has something to do with procrastination.  If we leave our creativity to chance and we have been feeling rather uncertain or unsure of our creative expression it is likely that procrastination will have its way:  any time that may have been used spontaneously for creating art will be ignored or usurped by “more important things”.  (I can see that some of you are nodding your heads in agreement.  You have experienced this too right?)

So what is a spontaneous loving I want to create more gal to do?  Create time by scheduling it in of course.  You can still  be spontaneous during that time and any other time you find yourself with some space to create.  By scheduling in some regular play-with-art-time you are also giving your brain the message that your creativity and making art is an important part of your life.  When you leave it to chance, for those of you who have other “commitments”  “obligations” “priorities” then you are subtlety telling your inner Muse that she is not at the top of your list of important things.

Spontaneity is still an important factor for allowing your creativity to surface; however, we can still be spontaneous in our choice of what we make, or how we express through art.  What I have found most helpful for keeping my creativity alive and kicking is following my intuition when creating moment to moment.  It is one of the reasons I created Painting With Your Muse- I knew that so many of us struggle with maintaining our creativity when we are bogged down by other commitments.

But what if we commit to a schedule of making art? What if we make our creative expression a priority?

As I have said before, art feeds the soul, it opens the doors to our authentic selves- but only if we give it the unique space that it needs. One where it feels like it belongs, where it is nurtured, where it is allowed to grow and in doing so we too find ourselves growing and blooming in ways we had not imagined possible.

How will you create the space for your creativity and authenticity to flourish?