Monday 8 March 2021

Overflow of the Wine Glass of Life



 


My writing is an overflow of the wine glass of my life.
C. JoyBell C.

 


We’re often advised to write what we know, however, it could be said that we should write out of what we live

 

Creativity is birthed in life. 

 

In spirit. 

 

In adventure. 

 

In learning. 

 

In experiences. 

 

In relationships. 

 

In God. 

 

When I think of the overflow of the wine glass of my life, words like abundance, plenty, bounty, abundance, expansive, and spacious all create images of more than enough. 

 

The phrase, ‘the overflow of the wine glass of my life’ resonates with my soul. 

 

The oft-quoted Psalm 23 says, ‘My cup runneth over’ and we use that phrase when we are blessed beyond measure. 

 

 A phrase taken from The Message, makes me think of a life that is lived beyond the borders of restriction. 

‘I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life.’

My life is full to overflowing but there are questions: 

Is my writing from the overflow of my life? 

Is my life so full that it overflows into my writing? 

Is my life full of the right things? 

 How do we go from just enough to overflow? 

 

There’s a paradox in that the more you give, the more you receive. In creativity, the more time we give to living, really living, the more we receive a creative spark. Cultivating a creative lifestyle that draws on an abundant life is a challenge for writers. 

That's why Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way suggests we go on artist dates. An artist date is a way to devote time to your creative self. It should be done soloIt may be walking through a stationery store or visiting a museum—anything you find creative and enjoyable.

Ideally, an artist date is best done once a week, but aiming for at least once a month is an ideal way to begin. 

    We don't need to travel the world or have a lot of money to live an abundant life. Living with this mentality is an overflow of faith and a commitment to our craft. So, simply living and enjoying Creation, going for a walk in the bush, swimming in the ocean, or walking around an art gallery can inject something positive into our lives. 

    Filling up our spirits, topping up our creativity, and spending quality time with people can all fill our cups. When our cups are full, they overflow to help others, and hopefully into our writing. 

    I am very fortunate. I spend my life travelling (pandemics aside!), learning, mentoring, loving my family, and, every now and then, when I sit back and toast my life, I realise my life is full to overflowing.

I want a life that is like an overflowing glass of wine. I want a soul that overflows from the goodness of God. 

 

I want a life where creativity flows like fine wine at a wedding.  I want my writing to come from that overflowing. 

Where does your writing flow from? 


        Do you write out of the overflow of your life? Do you write to live or live to write? Do you try and write what you know or do you write out of what you live?


Elaine Fraser


Find out more about Elaine here 




 

6 comments:

  1. Love this, Elaine! I write out of what I know and also what I live. I find they both go hand in hand. A lot of my writing tends to be around encouraging people through life-learned lessons. I look for the gold in moments that occur in my life. Sometimes we can be so busy that we miss the small moments that often have incredibly powerful messages. Learning the lesson comes from slowing down, taking time to breathe and reflecting on those moments.

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  2. 'Gold moments'. I like that. Thanks for reading!

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  3. I love the idea of artist dates. Thank you. :)

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  4. Thanks, Elaine. I was meditating this morning about a school event I attended yesterday. I was "on duty" with my smaller school, among seven other schools. On one side was the school that my own children attended long ago. On the other side was a city school that should have been of no consequence - except prominent in the front row was a familiar face I recognized from facebook. So I had some extras to pray for. I came away so thankful that God sees the small acts of service and then extends the boundaries.

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  5. I find that my writing flows from my imagination, underpinned by lived experience. That flow is most effective when the direction is guided by Holy Spirit. I love the idea of getting out and about because I've found a sense of 'place' arising from lived experience both inspires and enhances my writing, but for the time being, opportunities for that kind of exploration are limited.

    We are blessed to live and write in a time when we can appropriate the lived experience of others via blogs, vlogs, and more. While it's not the same as being there in person, it's better than not seeing beyond four windowed walls.

    I wonder though, after a year of isolation, whether a new kind of knowing and flowing will arise out of the shock and the stillness - that could be a good thing. :)

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  6. Hi Elaine, I love Julia Cameron's advice and am attempting to embark a sole Artist Date at least once a fortnight this year. I think she's really onto something by encouraging us to mark as an unbreakable appointment something we might otherwise not get around to. And I believe it really does spark our creativity.

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