Abundance 3

This is a new word I’ve learned, abundance. It’s for plenty, opulence, exuberance. Julia Cameron writes a whole chapter about it in her book “The Artist’s Way”. And in the last week I stumbled over the word and the theme various times, so I guess it’s time to write about it. Let’s start with a common belief upon artists that represents the opposite of abundance.

Many (wanna-be) artists think that they have to be careful with their art and creativity and not waste it. As if there is a limited amount of creativity and art per person, and if you use it too much, the bucket with creativity will go empty – and can’t be refilled. This belief becomes a huge block when making art. You don’t dare to experiment. Your art has to be perfect right away, or else you waste your creativity on it and might have nothing left in five years.

I’m convinced that the opposite is true. How more we use our creativity, how more creative we get, and how more art we can make. The feeling of abundance helps us to feel secure, it helps us to create. Every artist has started small, making mistakes, learning by trial and error. You only dare to start as an amateur if you believe in plenty, in abundance, in that you can fill your bucket with creativity yourself, by making art, by cooking, by getting inspired by others. In the end your creativity and your art will grow from it.

When talking about abundance, I’m not talking about financial wealth. Here is another common belief that blocks people to become artists. They think that art is an expensive hobby and that they have to become financially rich first. Only than they can allow themselves to spent time and money to be creative and make art. While on the other hand you have the cliche of the poor artist, and the belief that true artists have to suffer – also financially – in order to make art. But if you are not born for it, you have to become rich first.

You see, there are many blocking and contradictory beliefs regarding money in connection with creativity and art. You can unblock the effect of those relieves if you start to belief in abundance. There is an abundance of creativity available, an abundance of art, an abundance of impressions outside to use in your art, an abundance of material, whatever, to make art. I’m really convinced about that, and it’s a useful belief, it helps me to move on with  my art (like writing this blog).

The most important thing is, that you allow yourself to live in abundance. And yes, you deserve it. It has nothing to do with financial wealth, it’s about allowing yourself that one flower on the table if you know that it makes you feel happy and rich, to take that cup of tea in a cafe (my favourite) to feel wealthy, that stroll across the river that gives you the impression that you have plenty of time when there are too many deadlines, that extra treat that you think is worthless, while you know too that it has a lot of meaning to you. You know best what it is.

What is your favourite way of making yourself feel living in abundance?