“Lifting the Gaze of the Creative Soul”
Dear writer, I hope you had a good week and took time to explore your personal writing rhythms! This week, we’re going to shift from when we write, and how often to the space we write in. Because here’s the thing…
While we may not always be able to choose our perfect writing environment, there are many things we can do to set the stage to prime our creative pump. Because here’s the other thing: we often become what we behold, and surrounding ourselves in a space that inspires us can be great way to fuel a regular writing habit.
But before we jump in, let’s take a look at others whose environment dramatically impacted their life’s work…
Environment in History
Claude Monet began experimenting with art as a student, dabbling in caricature, paintings, and pencil sketches. But it wasn’t until Eugene Boudin introduced Monet to “plein aire” painting that Monet’s masterful work as we know it began to blossom. Monet found himself endlessly inspired by the outdoors and the way the light would wrap landscapes, buildings, and people at different times of day and in different seasons. Often he would paint the same setting over and over again, capturing its uniqueness in different weather and lighting.
For Monet, finding the outdoor environment that fueled his creativity not only launched his career, it inspired some of his greatest works. Works used by many to bring a sense of beauty, tranquility, and peace to their own environments today.
Environment in the Bible
John the Baptist is a great example of a man who found the right environment to fuel his life’s work. Ordained by God to prepare the people of Israel for the arrival of their Messiah, John chose to give his riveting message of repentance in the wilderness outside Judea, far from the distractions of everyday life. As the Israelites left behind city’s clamor with its allurement and stresses to listen to John’s powerful call to repentance, many also willing left behind their sins, surrendering and realigning themselves for the arrival of the Lamb of God.
Environment in Life
I started cultivating my writing environment when I began to write my novels. And here’s the interesting thing, writer… I began my work while living in my father’s house in our transition between Uganda and home. For my writing, I found that, more than any visual cue, quiet was key. My father’s house was empty and still all day long until he returned around 5:15pm each night. The same was true of the 200 acre ranch where I finished novel. But here’s the interesting thing…
Though Jared and I traveled off and on for over a year before we finally returned home, I found that I could cultivate the sense of quiet and aloneness wherever I went. I did this through my choice of writing location, my desktop images, and sometimes through headphones with nothing playing in them. As soon as a got quiet and a sense of aloneness, my creative ideas would start to flow.
Environment in Your Life
Creating an environment more than anything is about creating spaces where you can connect with God and the dreams and creative well He’s given you as you create together. For example…
One of the ways I have always met Him with is in quietness stillness and solitude. It was no surprise to me that my creativity was fueled by the same things. The wilderness was a space in Jewish culture where many encountered God in powerful and personal ways. So it was no surprise that John’s chose to deliver his message in that desolate space. Though he was not a believer, it was Monet’s love of light and of God’s created world that drew him out of the studio and onto the “plein aire.”
And here’s the real deal: cultivating your creative space and is mostly about creating a space of peace and clarity to connect with God. Let me show you…
- How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts! My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altars, O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. – Psalm 84:1-4
- When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? – Psalm 8:3-4
- And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. – Genesis 2:8-9
- Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. – Exodus 26:1
If you’ll notice, writer, the psalmist loved the environments of the wide open heavens and the courts of God’s temple because they lifted his soul from the everyday into a new level of thought and existence. It moved his heart and mind from the temporal into the eternal where God was. You’ll notice when God designed spaces, He also designed specially to connect with us.
In the same way, creating a writing space based on our God-given design can help our mind and heart transition from the hustle and bustle of everyday life into the world of our story. Because here’s the thing…
Creating a writing environment is about creating a space to meet with God and let His presence and creativity fills us as we co-create with Him. A place where we lay aside all cares and distractions and enter His rest, allowing ourselves to freely dream with the eyes of faith in a space where all things are possible.
Where to Start with Environment
So are you ready to consider cultivating your writing environment? It’s easier than you think! Here are some ideas to get you started…
- Assess Your Design. God created each of us to connect with Him, to rest, and to express ourselves differently. Taking a quick assessment of the places, events, and activities that make you come alive and unlock your sense of wonder is a great way to begin cultivating your creative environment. Do you like silence? A hum of activity? Music? Do certain sounds or smells stir you? Do you prefer to be alone? In nature? Compile a list of things you love that spark your creativity. This list will lay the groundwork to begin creating a writing environment that fuels your imagination and creativity.
- Identify Keys. Now that you have a list of what inspires you, it’s time to take that list and circle prioritize it. Which items are consistent components of environment that unlock your ability to rest and dream? If you could only choose one thing to help you, what would it be? Note your strong preferences. While it may not always be possibly to meet all your preferences in creating a writing space, knowing which things are key for you will help you…
- Focus on What’s Possible. Take your list of keys that fuel your creativity and explore how you can incorporate them into your current writing space. This a time to get creative! Do you love quiet but live in a busy metropolis or in a house with small children? Consider noise-canceling headphones. Do you love the mountains? A mountainside writing retreat may not be in the budget, but a beautiful painting, print, or desktop image of a breathtaking range might stir up your inspiration. You see, writer there are many small things we can do to create a space that helps transport us from where we are to the world of our message or story. And here’s the lovely thing…
Cultivating an environment for creativity is about lifting our gaze. In fiction we lift our gaze to set it on things unseen. In nonfiction, to set it on things above. Just like Monet’s love of light still inspires awe and wonder in art lovers today. Just like John’s message among the barren rock cause people to come with hearts bared and souls wide open to God. Just like my novels draws readers from the chaos of life into a simple quiet world, where love and relationships can be seen with surprising clarity.
And here’s the most wonderful thing: As we cultivate a space to lift our gaze up, we’ll often find that wonder begin to spill over into our everyday lives, too, sensitizing our vision to the presence and person of God everywhere we go and in everyone we meet. And as we cultivate this lifting of our gaze, seeing more of God in our times of creativity and in the world around us, the words we write can begin to lift the gaze of others too.
So I encourage you, writer, to take a little time to this week to rediscover what fills your heart with wonder and inspiration and insight. Then choose a few of the strongest to weave into your everyday writing life. You may be surprised to find how creating a space for God’s wonder and person in your writing life makes space for Him in the other’s lives, too.
#creativity #wonder #lookup #dwell #EveryWriterWriting
