Creativity Magnet

When I take prolonged breaks from creative writing, still one of my favorite pursuits, it gets harder each day to pick up the habit again. The words that weave through my mind as I meander through my days rarely make the page. It’s almost like the mighty muscle that connects head, heart, and hand has disintegrated.

This feeling is not easily shaken, but it can stir creative inklings all the same.

During our recent move to a larger apartment, I rediscovered a small box of word magnets that we mostly used to hold photos on our fridge. I always viewed these as purely decorative until my husband forgot to turn off the oven one day.

In fear of fire and a high electric bill, I decided he needed a reminder:

I believe this particular set of magnetic words may be sloth themed (I went through a stage…) so using them to convey a message mostly unrelated to sloths was a fun challenge.

This tactile form of communication has stuck (pun intended) with me since.

Last night, after a few minutes of boredom, I felt an overwhelming urge to write but also a fear of the blank page, so I returned to the bank of magnetic words. Suddenly, haphazard lines of poetry found there way to my fridge.

Head to heart to hand, creativity flowed.

Go slow through the rainforest where leaves of leisure grow

Gentle happiness cuddles you tonight.

Between the sleepy trees above

Confused people watch which way

Our world will move us.

In irresistible motion we all mediate

Staring at every known thing we carry

Finding another upside from fast lows.

Joy can claw out any dim day

Creativity can bloom in any soil that is nurtured, splashing its imperfect beauty on a willing canvas. The magnetic field of this particular art has drawn me. I am no poet, but I am a creative communicator, blessed with the occasional ability to recognize effective tools too often overlooked.

So if you find yourself trapped in a guilty cycle for abandoning your own creative pursuits, dare to pivot. We rarely know which way the world will move us, but the magnetic powers of creativity will always find a way to draw us home.

Go create,

Anna