My Top 3 Methods for Creative Expression

Creative expression is a very important part of my life. Throughout my life I have tried many different ways to appease the need for expression. I always seem to come back to the big three: cooking, music and writing.

Cooking
When I cook I don't necessarily use a recipe. Last night for example, I had a hind quarter of chicken and german sausage thawed out. So, I thumbed through my small collection of cook books. Nothing stood out as the recipe for these particular ingredients so I improvised. I took out the old corning ware casserole dish. Cut the chicken at the leg and thigh joint. Sliced up the german sausage. Cut up about half of an onion. I then added white wine vinegar, a splash or two of balsamic vinegar, some herbs of choice and voila a dish was born (after substantial time in the oven of course). Nothing more invigorating than combining ingredients and having an edible (if not wholly delicious) main course.

Music

Another avenue of expression I travel down quite frequently is music. I enjoy playing my guitars and my keyboard but don't ask me to play any particular song because I don't know any. However, I am very adept at coming up with an original piece or two. Again, it is about expression not in a particularly accurate way but somewhat pleasing to the ear nonetheless. I believe it is just the sheer act of playing a musical instrument and hearing a tangible result. Somedays I cannot get anything going at all but when it is happening it inspires me to work harder and push to try different approaches. When I was much younger (school days, remember those?) I became interested in recording engineering which has pushed me to learn how using different effects can shape a sound. This has lead to exploring music in new ways and listening to music not so much for lyrical content but more as to how they produced those sounds. Exploring new sounds is an expression in itself and can be tons of fun with the right computer software and just a little knowledge of music theory.

Writing

How does writing fit into this bastion of expression? Dreams for one. When I have a dream that is memorable it is usually not the nice running through the fields with cotton candy skies and blueberry oceans. They are usually quite disturbing. So, when I recall a dream in all of its vivid details I write them down. Out of these dreams comes a realization of how events of the previous day, week, month, etc. impact my subconscious and can actually be helpful.

Back in mid-February I started writing a journal. This was more to establish a timeline for my experiences related to my job, divorce and life in general. However, writing in the journal everyday has allowed me the opportunity to reflect on my life, accomplishments, goals and progress. Mostly it has forced me to sit down and write. Funny thing is, it is not nearly as much a chore as I thought it might be. I then took up a challenge from streetarticles.com to complete 30 articles in 30 days which I did attain. Now I could have stopped at 30 articles but I find that I enjoy writing these diatribes about home businesses so much that I have continued to add to my library of published articles.

Writing can be as natural as breathing and sometimes I miss a day or two in my journal but I always go back and catch it up. Will I ever be a professional writer? Probably not but taking up this hobby has helped in my work life and gives me a chance to vocalize my views on many topics. No longer do I just go to a bookstore or a mall. I am always observing and imagining what the lives of these other people must be like. Sometimes I even make up stories based on my observations and yes I have even come up with a lyric or two as well. May we all document our lives and be willing to share.

Given our propensity to share and share wide, blogging is another area of writing I have thoroughly enjoyed.  In an effort to be as effective as possible and not necessarily turn a profit, I have also joined my share of programs for advice and I have found that the people over at WealthyAffiliate.com have been very helpful and provided ample good advice to grow a blog.  This blog is but one of several I have created and contributed new writing.  The idea I believe, is to share ones experiences, knowledge and new found wisdom to the masses to create a community of like minded beings.

All Together Now

All of these approaches do not exist in a vacuum. As you can imagine writing and music go hand in hand and the cooking allows me time to muse on the next piece I will be writing or composing. With these tools in hand, a more productive use of spare time can be had. Nothing more inspiring than being able to go back and revisit something you wrote or played a month ago to see how you have progressed, or not progressed as the case may be.

So, everyone get out there and express yourself in whatever way works for you.