My husband and I both love having a lot of pillows on our bed. We currently have 8 assorted pillows that we use when we read or watch TV in bed (not including 2 "dog-bones" or neck pillows). Somewhere over the summer we started creating what we call "Pillow Art". Whoever makes the bed arranges the pillows in a new and different way.
Neither of us can remember how, when or why this started. We just know that this once-boring chore has taken on a new meaning and enjoyment! It’s been at least three months and so far we haven’t repeated a pattern. Instead of waiting for the last possible moment to make the bed, we actually find ourselves trying to get there first! In fact, we also find ourselves thinking about new possibilities as we go about our daily business.
It has been said that knowledge is where you find it and my husband and I collaborated to share the following lessons we’ve learned from this experience.
- When it seems like we’ve exhausted all possibilities, we dig a little deeper and some of the most wonderful pillow art has been created on those days.
- It is possible to find joy in the strangest or most mundane places.
- Creativity is contagious. We’ve both noticed that on the days we personally create the pillow art, we find we bring a heightened sense of creativity (or ‘out of the box’ thinking) to all our work that day.
- Competition adds a spark of excitement to the process. It’s not exactly that we’re trying to win or ‘beat’ the other person, but there is energy that gets generated and that’s enjoyable as well.
- Another element we both enjoy is the anticipation of the other’s response to what we’ve created. For both of us, we’ve noticed that an integral part of the creative process is sharing what we’ve created.
- Even though we do something the same way, day in and day out for years, does not mean that is the only, or even the best, way to do something. Habit may be the biggest killer of creativity for me because it stops the process of thinking about something.
- It's the ‘little’ things that most impact the quality of our day and of our life. Seeking joy must include ‘recognizing’ joy wherever it is around and within us.
- Sometimes it's hard to get into bed at night because it feels like 'destroying' our art. However, there's a cycle here where the removal of one piece of art leads to the blank slate that let's us create the next one. Don't let making something beautiful keep you from making something even more enjoyable tomorrow!
- Each and every one of us is creative. Whether we apply it to canvas, clay, cooking, wood, software programs, how we wash the car or how we arrange pillows, the important component is that we express our creativity. The urge to create is within all of us and it's critical to our emotional well-being that we find ways to let it out.
- Anything that makes chores easier can’t be all bad. What kind of 'art' can you create in your own life? What regular activity can you simplify and beautify at the same time? I’d love to hear about it!
