This blogs intentions of reminding its readers to feed your soul got me thinking. .....How do I care for my own? To figure it out, I took a little airport waiting time during my recent holiday travels to reflect and journal. The answer came to me as creativity. Being creative helps me remember my self worth, as well as feel joy and playfulness. Before I started medical school, I worked with youth creating programs, art projects, and planning events. I prided myself on being able to find an effective use for any donated material. My job provided me with constant creative opportunities. As a grad student, I find my creative sessions are limited to holiday break. (note to friends and family: this is where all those homemade gifts come into play).
Once upon a time, I was even prescribed creativity by my naturopath. During this time, I was having intense nightmares that I was unable to wake up from. My ND predicted my right brain was to blame. In a very simplified view, your right brain is more about your creative side such as art and intuition. On the other hand, the left brain is more about your logical and sequential thinking. Medical school largely focuses on the use of your left brain. My ND predicted that perhaps the lack of use of my creative mind was causing my right brain to throw a party in my sleep. She suggested I increase my creative studying methods such as using more colors and drawing pictures. It worked for me, my nightmares decreased.
For a more in depth explanation on the sides of the brain and an amazing story check out this video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
Through writing this blog, it dawned on me how easy it is for me to forget to care for and nourish the creative side of myself. Setting aside time to think and reflect helped me realize this. My challenge to you is to do the same, take some time out of your day and find at least one thing that makes your soul sing.
