Creativity everyday

Taking short moments of pause in your day to be creative can be really valuable when it comes to looking after your wellbeing.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, take a few extra moments to pause, be creative and to be aware of what is happening around you. Take a few extra seconds to hear the bird song when you get up, breathe in fresh salt air if you take a walk near the coast, cook a dinner without following a recipe, potter in the garden, pick up a pencil and make some marks & scribbles, take photos around your neighbourhood (ideas below) or grab a magazine or newspaper and try your hand at a blackout poem perhaps (details below).

This kōrero with Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Robyn Shearer has some great insights and simple tips you can take to be kind to yourself and to others around you. Ask yourself and ask others 'Are you ok?' Kia tūpore Aotearoa. [Click here to watch]

Blackout Poetry. Blackout poetry is something that even people who feel they aren't creative can participate in. Take a page of an old and unwanted book, newspaper article, or any other printed material. Scan the page for keywords that resonate with you and start by circling them with a pencil. Without changing the order of any words, start to draw lines from the words to make a complete thought or phrase.

Next, blackout any words that aren't in your phrase or poem, and add illustrations or colored boxes to emphasis the words that are left. Everything you need is already on the page, all you have to do is arrange it. This activity is also helpful for creatives who feel like they are "stuck" and uninspired. If you want to see blackout poems from a master of this craft, check out Austin Kleon poems.

Photography. You don't need a fancy camera and a case of lenses to capture moments in time. Just use your phone. Photography can help us to look beyond ourselves, broaden our perspective and to be in the moment. It can also be very revealing to see what draws your attention to the point that you want to hold it in time. Think about what you are snapping pics of as you walk and explore. Was it beautiful? Was it sad? What seems temporary and fleeting until you capture it in a photograph? Did it remind you of something or someone? You could even commit to taking a few photos throughout your day for a week and reviewing them when you get home each day. You don’t have to make it an everyday commitment or a lifelong ambition, but if you do want to see some of the everyday pics that photographers around the globe have been snapping, then check out Everyday Projects.

Photo credit: Rakicevic Nenad from Pexels