Hey, there is something really exciting and fresh about New Year’s isn’t there? All the new possibilities it brings, and if you’re like me you’re still excited to be playing with the toys you got for Christmas… I had a We R Memory Keepers themed Christmas, but that’s another story for another blog post at another time.
One of the ways to my heart is to buy me a notebook. Oh I love them, they’re one of my greatest pleasures! And starting a new notebook or sketchbook – with those crisp white pages lying before you, waiting for something to be created upon them – aaah, there’s nothing like it! The notebook beckons, it’s calling, waiting to see what it’s going to be turned into and what’s going to grace its pages. Inside my mind, a challenge begins to rise up, “Can I do this notebook justice, will I turn it into something great or will I be over it six pages in?”
It seems almost poetic that as 2018 begins, I need a new sketchbook!! Duh!! Of course I do and in my opinion, Moleskine sketchbooks are the bomb! They have this incredible history and philosophy about them, their paper is so smooth, it’s just begging to be touched, and the smell, oh don’t get me started on how good a new Moleskine smells. If you have a look at Moleskine’s website you can see the variety of different notebooks they offer, there’s a notebook for just about every situation. I’m pumped to be able to begin 2018 cracking the spine on a fresh new Moleskine!
But… alas…. I’ve felt like I’ve lost my Mojo. So 2018 begins and Mojo‘s been missing for the last two months… go figure. Where on earth has it gone? I’ve tried all sorts of things to find it. I’ve taken Creative Live courses, watched a tonne of YouTube tutorials and how-to videos. I’ve tried taking photos of different things each day, like nature and landscapes scenes, talking to other artists, but Mojo has still alluded me. They’re touchy little things aren’t they!! It’s almost like you think one thing that offends it, or you do one thing to dampen it’s spirit and it’s gone. Poof!! And then starts this huge journey to find it…
One of the things I’ve committed to for 2018 is to read more. As I’ve been searching for Mojo it’s become really apparent that reading is something that can bolster your creativity. It can open your eyes to new things, you can learn new skills or alternative ways of doing things. You can begin to see things from a completely different perspective. I’m part way through Tony Robbins, “Awaken the Giant Within”, I’m four chapters in and guess what, I found Mojo!! Hallelujah! I’m so so so grateful.
Tony has a whole chapter on beliefs, he talks about beliefs being either limiting or empowering. We have beliefs that we can also make really personal, like “I’m never going be good enough as an artist, no one really wants to see what it is that I’m making, so why should I even bother creating art“. It is any wonder why I had no Mojo! I was starting to develop this hopeless attitude about creating, and the pit I was digging for myself just kept getting deeper and deeper. So now I’ve learned that all of this stinking thinking, was just a belief that I had that was limiting.
So as I start the ball rolling on this new Moleskine, I am thinking about possibilities again. I’m thinking about ways forward, new ideas I want to try, I’m thinking about the artists that I’ve been watching over the last few months and how I can spice up my work with some of their flavours. I’m thinking about colour palettes and ink washes, watercolour paint and brushes.
I believe in a Creator, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, that he laid down the foundations of the earth and that he created you and I. The Bible says that we are made in his image and when I think of the Lord, I don’t think of there being any limits to his capacity to create.
Have a look at a snail compared to a tiger compared to a eucalyptus tree. There is no limit to what he is able to create, and if we are made in his image, then there shouldn’t be any limits to the way I create. Self limiting beliefs limit our ability to create, so we need to begin to believe we’re limitless as creatives.
I see this year is a fantastic opportunity to be able to start looking at the beliefs I have and whether or not they are limiting me or empowering me. If they’re limiting me, then it’s something I want to change.
It’s kind of like when you go to KFC and you get the two-piece-feed and it comes in one of those fold up boxes. I don’t know about you, but I tear each corner and lay the box out flat like a plate… well that’s kind of the way I see this new year taking shape, the walls on the fold up boxes need to come down. Limiting beliefs need to change into empowering beliefs that are rooted in our Creator.
What about you though, how did you get through the time when you lost your Mojo? I’d be blown away if our experiences turned out to be similar or even the same. Underneath this post is a spot for you to leave a comment, let me know your “Lost Mojo” story or if my story has helped you in anyway.
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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
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