On Fire
Concluding Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and Setting the World on Fire
It’s 1997, the middle of winter, in the geographical centre of North America - the literal heart of the continent, my hometown Winnipeg, Manitoba.
It’s a typical Saturday night at my Uncle’s house in the North End where the family gathers. Shoes are piled up at the entrance way, jackets get thrown atop my Cousin’s bed upstairs, children and adults filter in tiptoeing around the small muddy puddles of melted snow pooling beneath their boots careful not to get their socks wet. After ceremonially greeting each family member with a hug and a kiss, each one disperses to find their cluster of belonging within the constellation of aunties and uncles and cousins.
One cousin, a budding DJ at the time, gathers us in the basement where there are colourful milk crates filled with all kinds of vinyl records, next to turn tables, and speakers thumping with 80’s and 90’s hip-hop and R&B. I am barely 7 years old, and Rock Master Scott and The Dynamic Three’s The Roof Is On Fire (warning: explicit) pulses in the air.
It’s -40 degrees outside, but inside in that hot basement filled with laughter and movement and music and connection, we are transported into another world.
"Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire."- St. Catherine of Siena, 14th century Italian mystic and Doctor of the Church.
Three months ago I set out on a creative journey guided by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. What I have gained from the experience was much more than I ever could’ve imagined. Like being transported into another world. Lined by two main “action items”: Morning Pages and Artists Dates, over twelve weeks of creative recovery I revived a sense of playfulness and imperfection that I hadn’t known in years.
Somehow the myth of adulting robbed me of these inherent joys.
I had become a mother, a wife, went back to school for the third time in search of financial stability through a “practical” career in healthcare, and from the outside had checked all the boxes. Like the doggo in the On Fire meme, I was denying the raging dissatisfaction I’d felt crept in despite having lived out the script I was thought to have performed and performed quite well.
Something had to change.
I picked up The Artist’s Way and with a bit of naiveté and a lot of curiosity, I discovered invaluable lessons along the way:
Joy is a non-negotiable
People want to help
80’s and 90’s hip-hop and R&B hits different
Mistakes are worth making
Play begets rest
Recovering a sense of creativity is sort of like groping around in the dark - it can be frightening at first not knowing what monsters are lurking around in the shadows. But it turns out that in facing these fears - of making mistakes, asking for help, looking silly, and godforbid slowing down and taking time to rest and play, creativity can finally emerge.
Like a slow burn, I am letting my imagination run wild for the first time in ages. So, as new ideas begin to simmer, I am stoked to fan this flame and heat things up a bit.
St. Catherine of Siena, 14th century Italian mystic and one of four female Doctors of the Church known for her fervent prayers, writings, and a Patroness of fire protection famously wrote: “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”
So, what are you waiting for? Pick up your copy of The Artist’s Way off your bookshelf or at your local independent bookstore and join the party, people!
Let’s blaze some trails,
Ruth
Recommended resources for the creative journey:
The Internet People Podcast: Anna and MJ of the Internet People do a 12-week follow along of The Artist’s Way on their podcast which made the journey so much more manageable, fun and accessible
Friends: I was fortunate to have yoked with some solid friends who served as guides and inspiration for me over the last several weeks and months - I recommend doing this journey in community
YOU: You are your most precious and invaluable resource, take the time to nurture yourself and listen - I guarantee it’ll be worth it