Learning to Breathe
Breathing In Before Breathing Out
Some time ago I discovered an idea that changed how I think about making art, and eventually, how I think about everything else too.
Julia Cameron describes it in her well-known book The Artist's Way: physically, we have to breathe in before we can breathe out. She applies this specifically to creative inspiration, and the word itself backs her up. "Inspire" comes from the Latin inspirare - to breathe into, to blow into. That same root, incidentally, is where we get the word "spirit."
It's a simple idea, but it really hit home for me.
“Faithful” photo transfer, acrylic, color pencil, ephemera, and dried pressed leaves on cradled wood panel (10 x 22”)
What Happens When We Skip It
If I try to breathe out before I've breathed in, it doesn't work. If I push myself to just keep working, keep producing, keep showing up for everyone and everything without first making sure I'm taken care of it, that doesn't work either. Something runs dry. The well empties out.
I've come to understand that if I'm going to do my best at anything - getting chores done, teaching students, caring for the people I love, creating artwork - I first have to take time to breathe in.
What Breathing In Looks Like for Me
For me, breathing in means getting outside. A walk around the neighborhood or along the creek trails with Ginty. A drive through the foothills with my husband. Time in the garden, hands in the soil, watching what's growing. Coffee dates and museum visits with friends.
Last week, I went to a bat talk and tour with a friend and watched clouds of Mexican free-tailed bats flying out from their home under a long stretch of elevated freeway. It was so exciting and a real breathe of fresh air!
Click on the image to see video of the bats flying out to hunt for the night.
All of these things fill me up - emotionally, creatively, spiritually - so that I'm actually able to breathe out. To make artwork. To teach photography students how to really see. To run a small business with any kind of grace.
It's Not Just an Artist Thing
This isn't only for artists, though Cameron wrote it for them. As human beings we all need to make sure we are filling ourselves with things that give us genuine pleasure, things that feed our souls, before we can sustainably do the work in front of us. Breathing in isn't a luxury or a reward for finishing. It's the prerequisite.
What does breathing in look like for you? What fills you up enough to pour back out? I'd love to know
