THE MAGIC QUESTION TO SPARK CREATIVITY
A silly little story about fireflies, whispers and a certain Baudelaire's poem
This morning, I’m writing to you from my favorite neighborhood coffee shop, watching the New Yorkers come and go in a happy flow. It’s the summer in the city, I’m starting my days writing morning pages in my studio, the rays of sunshine caressing my face, and ending them laying on the grass with S. at the park, watching the moon rise and the fireflies shine their tiny lights all around us.
But not everyday is that blissful. Some days, I would struggle to find my place in New York. For a person so attuned to her sensations and emotions, the city can feel too much, way too much. Weirdly enough, it is often on those dark days that I get my best creative ideas, almost as if my creativity was a survival instinct that turned on to pick me up when I drown; an internal support system that has enabled me so far to live a life of adventures, rather than comfort. Not because I don’t need comfort, but because I need it so much that I have developed the ability to create it for myself.
And if you are anything like me, I believe you too have this ability. Let me lead the way and tell you about my most recent miracle encounter with creativity, it might give you some guidance…
It always starts with one magic question:
What do I need?
The key is to let that question seat quietly, softly, so your voice can emerge. Try to make silence around it because the answer could come only as a whisper. Sometimes our needs are shy to be heard too, especially when we are not used to listen to them nor make space for them. Last week, as I was seeing my spirit turn to darkness rather than light, I sat down and asked myself the magic question. My inner voice timidly murmured, like an echo to a Baudelaire’s poem:
Beauty, Harmony, Peace & Simplicity.
I was in the middle of gathering the paperwork for my green card application, a nerve-racking task sucking up my spirit and vitality. I urgently needed an escape, a break from the complexity of life, something that would refill my energy and soothe me. I needed to do something just for play, something light and accessible, not another project to add on my list. Something like… a moodboard, a creative activity I have always adored.
Suddenly, like the fireflies’ tiny lights at the park, an idea miraculously sparked in my mind. I knew it was the right path to explore, because the vision was instantly so bright and clear, and just made me feel alive again. On the same day, riding a new flow of energy, I found a name for this fun personal project and I designed a cute logo, keeping this main direction for every choice: does this fill me with joy?
I created a new Instagram account, named it @nyvisionboard, jokingly wrote ‘New York is taking a nap’ in the handle and added my candy colors logo. I then processed to select and post all the New York photos I had taken and forgotten about, lost in the mess of my Iphone, that gave me a -slow life- calming vibe. And I surprisingly had a lot, I just never thought about piecing them together so they could tell their own story.
Beauty, Harmony, Peace & Simplicity started taking shape on my New York vision board, offering the comfort I asked my creativity for. I was dreaming my New York slow life into existence, looking at the city through these new soft lenses and creating a home to nurture my vision. I will now have a frame for my future explorations; a safe place to collect moments of bliss I will encounter in my new city; and a visual proof of New York’s many faces, for the next time I could use a reminder.
This @nyvisionboard might look like a silly little project, but I love it; it carried me through a tough few weeks (I finally sent my green card application yesterday!!!) and took me back to the path of creativity and possibilities for the months to come.
May it be a soft invitation for you too, especially during the fun summer time, to make some space and quiet around, seat down and ask: ‘What do I need?’. You might be surprised by the magic that question sparks ;)
With love,
Laure-Anne
You are more than welcome to follow my little silly project @nyvisionboard, I’ll update it regularly with new secret city spots only known by the New York slow life dreamers!
Birthing the world I need is my greatest joy in life, and it is my calling as an artist. My dearest wish is that you too long for this world to exist and feel complete once you step in it <3
The creativity you put in your art work is amazing and it is so much full of you. My impression is that you haven’t unleashed what is deep inside 😘