Week 2 of The Artist’s Way is focused on self-trust and avoiding self-doubt. In particular, it explores the ways we can self-sabotage our creative selves through negative rumination. In order to overcome this, the chapter prescribes discernment and a touch of solitude.
Solitude is not the word Julia (the author) uses but I think it best describes what recovering artists should embrace. It is not only about solitude within the self, but space away from the people and things that may perpetuate a negative mindset towards art and creativity. The specific kinds of people this chapter suggests we safeguard our creative selves from are “poisonous playmates” and “crazy makers.”
Poisonous playmates can be understood as people with very unshakable ideas about who we are as people, and who, consciously or unconsciously, keep us from our creativity because it does not match with their view of who we are. These individuals can also act out because our creativity conflicts with their own ego or agenda. Crazy makers, on the other hand, are depicted as highly creative but chaotic people who can often trap other artists in their creative world and ideas, making it difficult for other artists to fully and freely explore their creative limits. In order to improve our self-trust we can work to limit our time with the kinds of people who create barriers to our creative development.
Attention
This chapter also explores the importance of attention in a way that I think is highly relevant to our current social-media addicted society. One thing Julia said that really stuck with me and prompted me to consider where I place my attention is: “The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention” (53). They go on to explore the different positive ways attention is linked to sanity, healing, and experience. Keeping our attention on the simple things, ensuring that our attention isn’t coopted by negativity, and actively working to hone the ways we can focus our attention during times of turmoil or difficulty directly ties into the development of self-trust.
The main goal of this chapter is to help us reflect on the things that distract us from and belittle our creative development. It asks us to use discernment when letting things into our mental space, and champions attention as a key tool for the healing and protection of our creative selves.
You can read all of the articles in this series here!
