Creativity, Part II

In my last post, I shared one of the core concepts addressed during my health coaching program at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) - that of primary food, or the parts of life that nourish our body, mind, and spirit off the plate (those that are on the plate are secondary foods).

Of the twelve areas of primary food, I focused on one: creativity (see last week’s blog “Creativity as Nutrition”), and how the exploration of being creative can nourish us in a way that other things can’t. I firmly believe that embracing creativity can enhance resilience, reduce stress, and promote our overall state of health and wellness.

I mentioned how I’d been thinking about creativity quite a bit, as a project I’d been working on through the winter was getting ready to be brought into the world. Well, it’s time! This is the birth week of my creative project, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

I have recorded an album (there, I’ve said it)! For the past six months, I have been working with a fabulous, multi-talented, musician/music producer and friend to put together a recorded collection of songs that are meaningful to me, as well as a few that we wrote and brought to life together. It’s allowed me to move beyond my experience of being a drummer and a vocalist in live settings. It has forced me to step out of my comfort zone of sitting behind the drums to stand behind the studio microphone and sing (and to be recorded singing), knowing that I would be heard way outside the room in which I was singing.

And it has felt not just a little bit scary. Creativity can often be linked with fear, as I spoke of in my last post. Being creative can make us feel vulnerable. If we harness and express a passion from within, we face a feeling of exposure and judgment (real or perceived). In last week’s post, I also highlighted Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear,” where she discusses fear as an inherent aspect of the creative process. Gilbert acknowledges that fear often accompanies creativity, she but encourages embracing it as a natural companion rather than allowing it to hinder your creative pursuits. Don’t let it prevent you from expressing your own unique creativity. If you hold back because of fear, the world might miss something beautiful and important you have to express.

How has this expression of my creativity had an impact on my own health and wellness? It’s brought with it a feeling of accomplishment, of gratitude, of confidence. A feeling of satisfaction at having taken on something challenging. My training as a health coach tells me that this is all beneficial for my nervous system, my ability to regulate emotions, and my mental health. Immersion in this creative process has improved my sleep and my appetite for exercise and nourishing whole foods – all of this great for my metabolism and cardiovascular system. It’s challenged me to think in ways I haven’t before, and I know this is good for my brain. 

I want to challenge you to think a bit more about creativity this week and how you can bring more of it into your life. Exploring and expressing your creativity is a form of self-care. Whether it is through making music, writing, painting, dancing, singing, or any other creative pursuit, embracing this inspiration can enhance our holistic wellness. I believe that by feeding our creative pursuits we can be empowered to live authentically and embrace the magic of our full potential.

If you’d like to follow my journey and hear my first single, please find me on my personal Instagram (@phervey1), where on Friday (May 17th) I’ll post a link for you to take a listen. The full album release will follow on June 21st, and I’ll share the link for that as well on the date.

Send me a note at pam@pamelaherveywellness.com and let me know what feeds your soul creatively. Or drop a comment on my Instagram post this Friday!