How to find Creative Inspiration and be an Inspiring Mum

I remember the first time I read Sylvia Plath’ novel “The Belle Jar” trying to understand Esther’s depression and fears of getting married, her envy of the freedom that men have and her worries to get pregnant. Despite that I didn’t quite understand at the time, the thought that becoming a mum one day may suck down their creative inspiration and zest of unfettered imagination was daunting for both Esther and Sylvia Plath. What would they be left with…a glimmer of who they once were?

Up until that moment, reading Plath’ book, I never thought it is a question of either or. I was naïve enough to think you can have both. Only later I realized that this is where the powers of the Wonder Woman lie: Being able to marry and live with motherhood, creativity and inspiration (and herself) amongst the noise and the hectic daily routine of family life.

Imagine a weekend carving pumpkins, lighting a fire underneath a grill, grocery shopping with two kids giggling and screaming with excitement in your grocery cart, rolling down a hill in the muddy grass and jumping in puddles, being dressed in a raincoat and rubber boots and then can you be fast enough to switch and imagine my Monday, dressed in a smart suit, wearing high heels directing a fashion shoot or speaking in front of the camera on film set.

I found that as my role as Mum blossomed with two small children and I was deciding whether I should hang illustrations of Alice in Wonderland or Puss in the Boots in my kids room, I imagined that creativity is not so difficult after all to keep and hold dear. In fact, it made me want it more. It is tangible and something I’ve known for years even in the face of motherhood. The thing that is different is the amount of time I have, but it is not something I am willing to completely let go of.   Creativity is what I cling to because it is innately mine. It is about words I would type on my computer or images I would snap with my camera, titles and traces of messages with a manuscript pilling over the dining table at ungodly hours. It is all something I can capture, schedule, and control. It is what keeps me grounded because so often in parenthood I stop and wonder who is this person I have become? For me creativity is my base and it is what reminds me who I have always been. So it needs to be scheduled and I need to keep creating. It fuels me. It fills my cup up, it helps my blood flow, it makes me feel alive inside. And when I create something that brings me and those around me joy, it feels like I am truly living my purpose as a person, as a female, as a nurturer.   I don’t necessarily have to chose either/or but I do have to be more strategic with my scheduling.

So I started by making a list of some things that get my creative juices flowing and my need to create inspired……and they are……

1. Take a walk or run along the lake
2. Forget all to-do lists at home and spend an hour in the steam bath on your own, without reading or talking to anyone
3. Visit an Art Gallery and leave your phone in the locker
4. Try to be spontaneous and reckless form time to time
5. Use more often the phrase Why Not
6. Sit quietly in the library
7. Read from your notebook/Diary from 5 years ago
8. Practice mindfulness

What inspires you? Have you made your list?