My_365 Project {January}...

At the beginning of the year I jumped in on the "My_365 Project" on Instagram.  My first thought was "Jenna, what are you thinking?  You know you can't do this.  Should you really take this on?"  

Then I spoke to myself from a new place (I've discovered recently) and thought, "So what if you miss a day, or your pictures just aren't as good as some of the others.  You'll still take more pictures and exercise more creativity than if you resign to the fear of failure."

You see, I'm sick of being afraid to fail.  Over the last year I started pursuing creativity more intently.   My husband has encouraged me to pursue photography more, and I've had a lot of excuses as to why I shouldn't.  Through a few good books and conversations with "creative" friends I came across a few nuggets of wisdom on this subject of creativity and failure.  Here are a few:

 

"There is no innovation and creativity 

without failure.  Period."
 ~Brene Brown

"An essential aspect of creativity is 

not being afraid to fail." 

 ~Edwin Land

I've realized over the years my soul responds when I find ways to be creative.  Madeleine L'Engle puts it best...

“The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort towards wholeness.” 

The opposite is also true, as Brene Brown points out...

 "Unused creativity is not benign. It clumps inside us, turning into judgment, grief, anger and shame."  (and I would add depression)

This is why I began this blog 7 years ago.  Documenting my days began as a way to see the sacred in the everyday as I was adjusting to motherhood with three young kids.  I cannot believe the way God continues to use this discipline to change my heart and soul.

So lets encourage one another to pursue our creative outlets without a fear of failure and begin to believe that our lives will be richer because we did.

   For those that don't follow along on Instagram here are my daily pictures from January.  All photos taken with iPhone 4S.

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

~Pablo Picasso