TINY TIP FOR CREATIVITY #3:
Indulge your thirteen year old self.
The past week was a packed one; I performed in an amazing new documentary play at the Davis Square Theatre in Cambridge (a first for me in that space!), did a little networking with some folks in the theatre community at a local Starbucks, and taught a documentary theatre workshop at a nearby education conference. It was all good, but I was wiped by the end of the week.
When I finally returned to my apartment on Saturday night, tired and hungry, I was looking for a way to recharge. My adult self urged me, "Do some gentle yoga, take a hot bath, maybe even meditate." Completely out of the blue, my thirteen year old self showed up proclaiming "Get takeout from your favorite burger place up the street, change into pajamas and shamelessly watch Baz Lurhmann's "Romeo + Juliet".
Folks, my thirteen year old self won. By a long shot. As I happily ate my dinner on the couch in my pajamas and watched as Leo pursued Claire Danes as only a Montague can, I was so grateful to my inner teenager that suggested I unwind this way. For the whole two hours of the movie, I didn't touch my phone. I didn't worry about what has gone wrong the week before or what the next week might hold in store for me. I was totally and shamelessly engrossed in that world of Verona. It was bliss.
Watching the movie brought me right back to being thirteen, when I went to the movies theatre to see the film with my middle school friends at the mall. The feeling of freedom came rushing back; it was one of the first movies I attended without my parents. Regardless of how "good" an example of Shakespeare the movie is, it was the first Shakespeare I had seen on film or anywhere else and my mind felt blown open hearing the language, imagining that kind of love, transported by the over stimulation that is a Baz Luhrmann film. It was a special experience for me then, and revisiting it now brought me back to a time when everything was just a bit newer, more immediate. It felt good to time travel. even just for the night.
Next time you are in a creative rut, needing to refill the well, or just plain feeling grumpy about the state of your world, do yourself a favor. Indulge your inner thirteen year old. Is it a rereading of the Secret Garden you desire? Go to the library or thrift store and get a copy. Is it an Anne of Green Gables inspired picnic you crave? Pack some goodies and just go. Want to catch up with your favorite superhero? Head to the movies. Don't question it and don't feel that you owe anyone an explanation, least of all your "adult" self.
Do tell---what's something you loved doing as a kid? When is the last time you let yourself do it?
