creative gratitude & Grounding

This time of year there is many messages that remind us of how grateful we are to have what we have....no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.  I know as I look back on this year, I often wished that certain things turned out much different than what it did, but upon further reflection, I am grateful for everything that DID turn out good...and even the unexpected blessings of those things that did not.

The one thing I can say despite all the things that I considered going  "right" or "wrong", I am grateful for my creativity.  Instead of taking it for granted, I continued my creative practice, and by doing so, I found that it led to me experimenting and trying a variety of differnt mediums, some I would have not ever considered trying.   But most of all, by continuing my creative practice, it served as a self-care tool for me to express myself about things I experienced difficulty expressing verbally or in writing.  This was the biggest blessing for me for this year. 

As you reflect on this year, what are you most grateful for in 2018?   If you are having some difficulty thinking of what to be grateful for, I encourage you to find some inspiration from the written word.  When I read positive affirmations or quotes, that helps prompt me to create new things or think about my situation differently.

A few years ago, my friend and colleague, Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC, ACTP who is a Cleveland area Registered Board Certified Art Therapist shared 20 creative quotes that  that she offered as a "creative counteraction to fear, judgement, and shame during times of distress, suffering, and sorrow."   I found these creative quotes as way of grounding me regarding my feelings of gratefulness and I thought I would share them with you. 

And I will ask, as Gretchen did, what creative quotes or practices help ground you in gratefulness and  generosity, especially in regard to your creative gifts?
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• "The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

• "All art arises out of gratitude, a deep pervasive feeling that you are glad something exists outside yourself, that something can complete you." ~Dorothy Koppelman

• "I have walked this earth for 30 years, and, out of gratitude, want to leave some souvenir." ~Vincent van Gogh

• "Artists are among the most generous of people. Perhaps inherent in the appreciation of creativity comes a deep, underlying love of humanity and our Earth."  ~Kelly Borsheim

• "Gratitude opens the door to… the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe." ~Deepak Chopra

• "I will draw as much as I can for as many people as I can for as long as I can." ~Keith Haring

• "I am filled with gratitude for the ability to live the artist’s life. In my studio. Being an artist. Everyday."  ~Mickie Acierno

• "I’m very grateful for an entire lifetime spent involved in this creative process."  ~Ron Howard

• "Those works I have most profited by are the ones I have given away." ~ Joseph P. Blodgett

• "Music and art both spring from a grateful heart."  ~Katie Wood McCloy

• "Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind." ~David R. Hawkins

• "I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating. I don’t care if it’s a book, a film, a painting, a dance, a piece of theater, a piece of music. Anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us. This world would be unlivable without art. Thank you for inspiring me." ~Steven Soderberg

• "Picasso said that the sale of every one of his works was like having a little piece of himself taken away. In this sense, he could be regarded as a very generous person." ~Marvin Humphrey

• "Gratitude is a many-colored quality, reaching in all directions. It goes out for small things and for large.” ~Faith Baldwin

• "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melody Beattie

• "Art is the giving by each man of his evidence to the world. Those who wish to give, love to give, discover the pleasure of giving. Those who give are tremendously strong." ~ Robert Henri

• "There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens up the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way."  ~Jim Rohn

• "The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure." ~ Dale Carnegie

• "An artist gives. Gives visually, gives through courses, or with free advice, through generosity of spirit and through a need to share."  ~Veronica Roth

• "The act of giving something to others is an art of flowering your heart." ~Vinayak

Happy Holidays to You and Yours....best wishes for a Creative and prosperous New Year!