Living a Creative Life by Ginny Lennox

“Around here we don’t look backwards for very long… We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

--Walt Disney

I love this inspirational quote from Walt Disney. I have found that in life I am always going down new paths. Sometimes by choice other times because of necessity. But when I go down the path with an open mind plus an open heart , I find that I can always learn something new about myself, my world, and the people in it.

The past few months I have wandered down some new paths with my husband not by choice but by necessity. He has a chronic and progressive lung disease which decided to take some unwanted twists and turns on its own. We faced each new decision together and are now back on the path we want to be. During this time, lots of things had to take a back seat to what was most important – his health. But I also found that along with lots of new medical information I learned something about myself and how important my creative practice has become.

I have always been a creative person I just didn’t know it. But for over six years now I have been on a creative journey that has taken me down many new and interesting paths. Writing and painting have become part of who I am. I look forward to writing my blog, to using my pastels, and to taking pictures. I love to begin each day doing something creative. Yoga fills my soul and being in nature inspires me! When I couldn’t fill my days with these things for the past several months, I realized how important they had become to me and how important it is to protect the creative side of who I am.

Life is filled with ups and downs. It has its own flow and rhythm. Sometimes we can control those ups and downs. Sometimes we can’t. But I believe that the more we know ourselves and what is important to us, the easier it is to weather the storm. So now I make sure to bring a small sketchbook with me to a doctor’s visit and draw while we are waiting. Or I get up a little earlier to paint a picture or write a blog post. If I miss a yoga class, I do my practice at home. I realized during the past few months how important color is to my mood and/or creative life. So I am adding more color to my paintings and to my wardrobe. Bright scarves can brighten any day and help me to express who I am in a simple yet creative way.

Sometimes life changes and with those changes comes new ways to sustain or build a creative life. Being curious, being open, knowing one’s self and staying true to who you are makes finding new ways to express yourself fun and exciting. There are always ways to protect your creative life. You just have to be open to finding them.

I would love to know how you have found time to be creative when life seemed to get in the way.


Ginny, a certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, believes that each and every day is filled with special moments to be enjoyed and treasured. On her blog, Special Moments in Time, she encourages everyone to recognize and celebrate their own special moments each day.