Digressions: My Life in 500 Words or Less
Updated: Jan 26, 2023
Sometimes focusing on your art is harder than at other times. Sometimes it helps to immerse yourself in creative works.
My birthday was last Thursday. And, leading up to that day, was my birthweek.
Yeah, birthweek. It’s a thing in our home.
Decades ago, Rebecca and I began the tradition of acknowledging the week leading up to each other’s birthdays. We give each other a small gift each day of our birthweeks.
The tradition is something that makes me smile. It is not about the gifts themselves, although I am by no means saying I don’t enjoy them. (Who’s dissin’ Raspberry Jelly Donut Imperial Porter? Not this guy!) But the items are typically very inexpensive, so their value is less literal and more metaphorical.
At its very core our tradition of birthweek is the expression of our appreciation of one another. It is a way to share joy. It is a gesture of love.
During birthweek, we share excitement about our gifts (sometimes placing those gifts somewhere for the recipient to stumble upon as a surprise). I feel immeasurable fortunate to be able to share that genuine excitement.
Among the gifts I got this year were some guitar picks and a guitar strap, all adorned with art by Vincent Van Gogh. Becca knows my favorite painting is “The Starry Night.”
In the best of ways, the Van Gogh gifts reconnect me. They remind me of the potential power of art. They remind me the best works of art have soul.
Art inspires art.
Van Gogh used paints and canvas. My canvas is the blank page and my paints are words. Not that I’m in any way comparing myself to Van Gogh. But the principle is the same, and despite the medium, inspiration is often a vital element of creating art. Inspiration can jumpstart creativity and motivation, too. That is important to me, these days, as my focus and time have been pulled in various directions.
The point is this: I’m thankful for every gesture of love in my life, both big and small. Love not only nourishes the heart, it nourishes the soul.
And when you nourish your soul, art happens.
