Creativity can be chaotic. Your brain doesn’t have to be.

You don't have to give in to the myth of the chaotic artist. I mean, you can if you want, and for some it works. But leaving your paint tubes in piles on the studio floor, books strewn around the room, and a pile of dishes in the sink is less a way of life than it is indicative of how your mind works. All that aside, if the mess will not bother you, where do you find the calm and clear mind from which to work?

Meditation is one of those activities that is wonderful once you're in the habit, but sometimes challenging to start. Exercise is the same. So where does the messy soul find solace and inspiration?

Beauty.

By directing our attention to what we find beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, rhythmic, aurally satisfying, we are acknowledging to ourselves that not only are those things outside ourselves beautiful, but the one seeing holds the same beauty. Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder, it is the beholder. By noticing what we notice, we create a mirror in ourselves that reflects the wonder and contains it in our being.

This noticing, this attention is itself a creative act. And one that doesn't require pen on paper, paint, instruments, or skill. It is simply taking the moment to allow what is outside in, and what is inside out. The mingling of the two creates a third thing that is that awareness between. So, leave the dishes. They will wait.