E95 - Small Creative Acts of Joy
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Speaker: Testing.
Speaker 2: Hello, my creative friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. As always, it's so good to have you here. Now, if you've been with me through the last two episodes, you know we've been discussing the power of simple creative acts that you can do every day to increase your inspiration and your overall happiness.
Now, two weeks ago, we explored the 10 minute Everyday Creative Reset, and last week we talked about the Golden Gift of Creative Silence. Today is our last of our three episodes, and instead of having a giant grand finale to end the series, we're going to talk about something tiny, something fun and joyful.
We're going to explore how small acts of creativity, some that might almost seem [00:01:00] invisible, some that you have been told, oh, you should only save those things for special occasions. And some of these small acts of creativity are just straight up fun. But all. Are small and they're simple tweaks to your day that will help you lift your mood, get you inspired and reclaim calm, and bring on the joy even during stressful or worrisome weeks.
The other day, Tom and I went to a restaurant for dinner, and here's something I noticed. The people around us were barely talking. They were, they almost weren't looking at each other mostly because they all had their heads down scrolling on their phones. And quite honestly, another factor, about the reason why no one was talking could have been because the music in the restaurant was cranked so high it seemed We were at a [00:02:00] dance party.
Tom and I had to shout into each other's ears just to hear each other talk. and around us were so many TVs that it was difficult to focus on what was happening on any one screen. Consequently, that restaurant is no longer on our lists of places to go because we like to go to talk to each other.
We like to go to enjoy food and a good conversation that doesn't involve yelling into someone's ear. But here's my question for you today. Why have we become a society that needs to have that kind of stimuli shot at us like a cannon ball when we go to a restaurant? Why do restaurants feel like they have to have 60 screens and crazy music to keep us entertained while they feed us food?
restaurants used to be for celebrations, and it was a great way to [00:03:00] get caught up with family and friends because it was where you went for really great conversation that was coupled with amazing food.
Now this is why I want to talk about tiny creative acts today. Small but mighty things that bring a lift to our blaring society of constant noise and images that you might be wondering how can a small thing make a big difference and actually do anything. Causes an actual shift in making my day better.
Well, that's a really good question and I'm excited to share this episode with you. These tiny acts are actually some of my favorite creative things to do, and I've personally seen how these little moments can make big changes. And because of that, a lot of the things we're gonna talk about today are little, tiny, creative [00:04:00] acts that I have been doing for over a decade.
Every week. So today we'll explore why small creative acts actually matter. And yes, my friend, there is actual neuroscience behind this. And I'm going to give you reasons why you need to give yourself permission to have these little creative moments of fun throughout your day, throughout your week that will spark and kindle some joy in your life because you deserve it.
But first, let's step into why smallness holds power. Now, creativity isn't just reserved for the grand project or the polished masterpiece. The heart of creativity lives in the smallness. Creativity is most [00:05:00] important in what you do with your hands. The attention you give to your activity and the small choices that your brain gets to make in each single moment you spend enjoying something creative.
When you allow yourself these moments of making creativity, you slide into creative flow, which feels like a lift in your mood. It just is this little, Lightness that you feel in your hearts. It's a moment when the cares of the world don't feel as pressing. And I don't know about you, but lately I have needed these moments in my life so much.
Now, neuroscience affirms this according to a study of everyday creativity When people engage in just ordinary creative [00:06:00] actions like sketching, arranging flowers, writing, making recipes, gardening, any one of a million different creative activities, those moments, those simple small moments correlate with a higher positive effect and a greater sense of wellbeing.
What's not to love there.
And research also notes through surveys and diary entries during these studies that small acts of creativity, even. Small, tiny amounts. Well, these acts of creativity forecast, higher wellbeing even on the next day. And research on the brain's default mode network, which is the system linked to imagination and reflection and daydreaming, shows that small creative acts play a crucial [00:07:00] role in idea generation.
Creative thinking. So when you slow down, when you allow yourself to have some creative fun, even in small ways, the default mode network in your brain hums quietly, and creativity can arise more freely. That is powerful. So these tiny acts. They aren't trivial. They are invitations to your brain to say, let's shift out of autopilot.
Let's pull away from the noise of the world. Let's notice. Let's enjoy life and let's breathe again. Now, before I go on, let's have a quick word from our sponsor today. This episode, my friend, is brought to you by the Create Today [00:08:00] membership. This is a creative space where we weave the practices that we're talking about today into our daily life.
Inside the membership, you will explore what it means to be a healthy creative. When you are grounded in your creativity, it is easier to grow your confidence, and this leads to greater success. With your chosen activity, your chosen goals and dreams in your life, and all those things that you see for yourself that you would love to achieve.
If you've ever wished for encouraging guidance to support your unique creativity, you'll feel at home here as you create today with me, because yes, I am always there with you listening, cheering, and sharing creative ideas with you.
You can learn [00:09:00] more about the Create Today membership by going to www.bdicreate.today and Upward says menu on the website. Scroll down until you see membership and coaching and you'll find all the information you need and a way to sign up. And if you sign up soon, there is a special introductory price where you can get and try out the membership for a low, low price for one month.
Now, the magic behind small creative acts is that they layer up and create joyful habits. Repetition of these small creative moments teaches your mind, yes, creativity is possible. I can do this. And this makes me happy. And when you say yes to small gestures, you whisper to your nervous [00:10:00] system.
I can be creative. I can create even in the cracks of my day over time, these layers of small creative bits, well they add up And my friend, your creativity expand. Also because the stakes are low, 'cause you're only doing small creative acts that can't be really complicated.
You free yourself from that feeling of perfectionism. You allow yourself to play, to experiment, to be messy, to just have fun. And in that space you find more of your authentic voice. Now my friend, you know that I love a good list. I've prepared a list for you today of what I mean by small creative acts, because right now you might be thinking, this all sounds really great, Beth, but I don't quite know what I can do in [00:11:00] just a nano moment of time.
That would be considered creative. So let me give you some ideas, and some of these might surprise you. You might think this is a creative act, Beth, that's so easy, and that's exactly what I want you to think. That's so easy and that would be fun. So here are some tiny creative acts that you can introduce right now, today or sometime this week, and each one of these ideas is simple, but each is also amazingly powerful.
One, get out those dishes that you save for special occasions. All that good China that you've got tucked away in the back of a China cabinet or a cupboard, take it out, dust 'em off because your meal deserves reverence. Your meal deserves a little [00:12:00] celebration when you use those good dishes. You just kind of feel like you should be feeling happy, because that's what those dishes are reserved for special occasions when you are going to celebrate something.
So get them out maybe once or twice a week, and then choose what are you gonna celebrate? Pick out something small, like I'm gonna celebrate the fact that
I enjoyed a pretty sunset tonight. Just think of something small that you can celebrate. Maybe it's a small win towards a goal that you are working towards. Maybe it's something that happened with your family that isn't giant, but still worth celebrating. Maybe it's just because it's Tuesday, pick a thing and celebrate it and get out those good dishes.
Now you can also like candles for dinner on a random weeknight. Again, get out those fancy candlesticks, those candelabras that you might've [00:13:00] gotten as a gift. Can you even remember the last time you used them? They might be full of dust. You might have to dust them off before you can put a candle in them, so it is high time you get out those fancy candle holders.
Candlelight, my friend, is a beautiful way to reflect and, and celebrate to remind your heart that you matter. Number three. Pour your morning coffee into your prettiest mug. Now, the choice of mug in the morning for me is important. I take a moment to think about what I'm doing in the day. Is there something challenging for me?
Am I gonna be doing something super fun? Am I going to see a friend I haven't talked to in a while? What coffee mug do I have that's going to mirror? What I would like to achieve during the day, or what I know I'm going to be feeling in my day. So I have a [00:14:00] collection of mugs that I have found everywhere I have traveled that range from encouragement to compliments to comfort.
And some days I will even change my mug midday just to give myself an extra lift if I need it. So what kind of mug or glass are you going to use? That every time you look at it, it will give you that extra burst of happiness.
Number four, use a photo that you've taken of a color or a pattern that draws your eye. And makes you happy for whatever reason, and save it as your phone's wallpaper or maybe the wallpaper on your computer. Just seeing this image is going to remind you of that creativity that made you all bubbly and tingly inside that has you inspired that makes you want to do something.
Get out that photo and put [00:15:00] it somewhere where it is going to jazz you up. Number five. Arrange fruit or objects in a bowl like still life.
I have a fruit bowl on my kitchen island that I keep fruit in. I arrange the fruit with other seasonal decor. Sometimes I'll incorporate a candle or a little fun jar of jam. It makes me happy to see the little still life displays that I make on my island, and it reminds me also to eat fruit. So that's a win-win, a pretty display.
Also healthy food that you should be having anyway, so number six, don't wait for people to buy you flowers. Gift yourself flowers. I have been buying fresh flowers for my kitchen and my studio for the last 10 years. I buy them from Trader Joe's and I don't spend a lot of money on them, and I have found several types of flowers [00:16:00] that last up to almost two weeks.
So it's not a lot of money to bring fresh flowers into my life. And seeing these flowers in the house gives me a little burst of joy. And when I bring new flowers in, sometimes the old flowers aren't completely gone. So I'll clip off those and put them into even smaller Bud VAs, and then I'll put them into bathrooms or other places in my house, and I just spread the joy even farther.
Number seven. Write one sentence in your notebook about something beautiful today. You know, if you did that every day, something beautiful that you're either looking forward to at the beginning of the day, or maybe in the morning you write something that was beautiful that happened to you the day before.
So it can either be, um, pre gratitude or post gratitude, but if you do that every day. Then on days where you really need to have that extra lift of goodness, [00:17:00] you can thumb back in your to-do list or your notebook and see the things you've thought about every day that were gratitude towards the beauty in life.
Having those kinds of uplifts will benefit you in a couple different ways. Number one. You will be able to refer to it to see what you have been thankful for and realize that you really have a life that is beautiful. And two, when you start looking for something that you're going to write about next in your notebook,
It's gonna help you be on the lookout for those tiny acts of creativity that catch your eye and give you that boost of joy.
Speaker 3: Number eight. Send a handwritten note, not because you have to, but because you want to. imagine one of your best [00:18:00] friends or someone in your family, your mom or a daughter that moved away, or a grandchild that you love. You just send 'em a little note and they get this in the mail, a random piece of mail, oh my goodness, that makes everyone's heart happy.
Speaker 2: Making that note and knowing how happy someone's going to be, it doesn't take long, and that is a small act of creativity that is going to give you that, oh, feeling of I did something good today. And if you don't have time to write something, you know what works just as well is sending someone a text just to say that you are thinking about them.
Just to let them know that you are sending a smile or hug for no reason. It's gonna brighten your day and it will brighten theirs too. And I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you might start getting random. Thoughts of love and joy back from your friends and your family because you started this action and then it can [00:19:00] become reciprocal.
And as I talked, when you start layering those small acts of kindness up, they get wonderfully beautiful and thick. Just like adding extra frosting on a cupcake.
Number nine, pause to watch how sunlight shines through a door, or the pattern that light makes from a light fixture, one of our kitchen lights.
Has three globes that dangle from the ceiling, and each one of the globes in the three fixtures makes this little really cool, gorgeous pattern on the ceiling. And we also have sconces in our family room that have a similar effect. They just create this incredible dance of light when they're on, and I don't know why.
It makes me happy. Our front door also has some beveled glass in it, and in the morning the way the sunlight shines through our door, it transforms these areas of [00:20:00] beveled glass into little warm, sunny rainbows that raspberry likes to lie in and snooze. Seeing my little rainbow dog napping in the sun makes me smile.
Now, all of these little light and pattern displays make me happy, and each one of them
is a small creative act.
Number 10. Speaking of raspberry, play with your pets. If you have a pet, play with them. If you don't have a pet. Maybe get a pet now if you have a pet. I know we can all get so busy that some days we have very little time that we spend with our furry friends besides making sure that they have food and water and that they have been walked.[00:21:00]
But giving our pet pals some good scratches or snuggles on the couch or belly rubs, or a game of fetch and noticing the delight in their little faces is amazing. It's a tiny creative act, so spend time just snuggling with your pet and feel the lift that you will get in your heart when you do that.
Raspberry and I have this little, um, routine that we do in the morning. She is under the covers after I get up in the morning and when I come to get her, I have to pull the covers back and pull her up, and I lay her on the pillow and I give her belly rubs and I give her ears a good massage.
And we do that every morning and I just look at her little face and see how content she is, and it makes me happy knowing that I have a happy dog. Number 11, get into your garden and [00:22:00] enjoy. Now this might be digging and planting some plants,
or it might be just pulling weeds for a few minutes. Or it might be just going out quickly to pick fruit and vegetables It might be just you laying in the grass, enjoying nature around you. So notice that most of what I've just mentioned, those are tiny creative acts that don't take a lot of time.
I have tomato plants in my backyard that, um, during the summer, my favorite little break during the day is for raspberry and I to go out to pick tomatoes. I go out barefoot because I love to feel the grass on my toes, and I pick tomatoes. I have snacking tomatoes that are just the right size to pop in your mouth for a quick bite.
I have a lot of different colors, some yellow ones, some that are burgundy, almost, of course, lots of red tomatoes. And it's fun to see all those tomatoes just pile up in the bowl. And you know what, it only takes me maybe 10 minutes to go out, [00:23:00] walk in the grass, pick my tomatoes, and come back inside.
But when I'm done. I feel like a little bit of a different person. It just calms me down. Number 12, open your planner and doodle a swirl or a star or whatever in your notebook or on the side of a napkin or an envelope or any sort of piece of paper. Or if you want to be really organized, get a special little notebook just for doodling and just doodle for the fun of it.
Let your mind wander and watch your hand. Just create mindlessly
Lucky number 13.
Wear some super fun socks. I always feel extra creative when I wear my inspirational socks, and I have several pairs. and I also like to wear some crazy socks. Uh, when I'm together with my grand [00:24:00] buddies, they love my wild dinosaurs or the rabbits and the fun colors that I've collected.
we often have some conversations just about the kind of socks that we're wearing. So wear some crazy socks or, wear some fun headbands or barrettes or wear a shirt that has super bright colors that match the personality that, that match the mood that you would like to be in today.
Wear something fun. Now, I hope this list makes you think of other small creative acts that you can slide into your day that will just perk you up. So I hope you've noticed that none of these things on the list involve deep exploration with creativity.
It's also not going to give you a great masterpiece that you can hang on the wall or gift to someone for a birthday present. No, these are things that are for you. They're just for you to give you [00:25:00] that little perk that you need to just feel better today for a moment. And if you can do that for a moment, your brain is going to allow yourself to just feel a little bit better for like no reason, for a little bit longer or for the rest of the day.
Take those breaks whenever you need them and find those moments of relief by doing something small, something tiny that brings you joy. I hope this list makes you think of other small creative acts that you can slide into your day because there are millions and millions of things alike this list.
You can do that will be special just for you. And, and if you have your own list, I would love to know what it is. Share it with me.
But use today's list to get you started. These are easy and most don't need any preparation or supplies to get you going. [00:26:00] They will give you something to start and figure out how you want to make these small creative acts part of what you do for yourself every day, week after week, month after month. So pick one or pick many and gift yourself today with one or more of these tiny moments of creative fun.
One of the most important things that you need to remember is that it is okay to gift yourself these moments of joy. and in order to do them consistently, you need to give yourself permission to do it. It's okay to buy yourself flowers. It's okay to wear crazy socks.
It's okay to go lay in the grass and smell the flowers. It's okay to take a moment to be barefoot outside. All of these things might be something that you either think I, I can only do that if it's a special [00:27:00] occasion, or I can only do that if I have a lot of friends over, or I am too old to do that, or that's just not me.
I would feel silly. Try it. You are not too old. You do not need to wait for special occasions to use those beautiful dishes. You do not need to have something special happening in your life to light candles. Do these things just because you are worth it. Joy in your life is important, and these are small acts easy to do.
That is going to bring you that joy today.
So here is my invitation for you. For the days ahead, choose one or more of these tiny acts that you can do each day. And as you can see, none of these are super grand and [00:28:00] none of these need to be done perfectly. These are small acts that are going to tell your soul that you, you my friend, you matter.
Then I want you to take a tiny moment during this small act to revel in your mind about how this small burst of bliss is making you feel right now. Then I want you to watch how these small bursts of joy will accumulate as you allow yourself these small moments many times during the day. Or several times during the week, but that you do them consistently and watch how you begin to appreciate those tiny things
Without even looking for them, especially if you haven't purposely added them to your day. It might be, noticing for the first time the patterns of light from a [00:29:00] window. like a little rainbow dog napping in the sun. And if you want to immerse yourself into even more joy through your creativity, my friend, if you want some fun challenges, guidance, community, and a space to experiment, please come and join me inside the Create Today membership together we can weave small acts of creative joy into your life.
Create creative habits that will make you happier and healthier and will help you reach creative goals that you thought you could only dream about. Thank you so much for being here today with me, and if you know a friend or a family member who could benefit from adding creativity to their life. Please share this episode.
Please share all the episodes of Create Today with Beth Buffington. Check out all the creative goodness you can find in past episodes. There are [00:30:00] many and they are golden. Thanks for spending a creative moment with me today. I know the world can be a place. It kind of feels that way right now, so I want you to
move away from the noise, my friend. Take a moment to catch your breath through a small act of creativity that will bring you joy. I'll be thinking about you as I like candles, tonight, whatever small act of joy you choose to creatively add to your life.
The most important thing to remember is stay creative, my friend.
