Thoughts on Digital Detox and Creativity

A large church in my neighborhood has called its attendees to experiment with a digital detox. I heard all about what they were doing on social media. (Wink.) 

Fantastic practice, in my opinion. Why?

Years ago, Tommy came home one day to our primary bathroom covered in long, horizontal strips of blue painter’s tape. We didn’t have much of a decorating budget; or any decorating budget, as I recall. I was tired of the beige walls and decided that painting stripes was a great solution for the blah. I started filling in the spaces between the painter’s tape in a gorgeous shade of eggplant. Maybe eggplant stripes don’t sound gorgeous to you but be adventurous with me.

When I took off the painter’s tape, the eggplant stripes had bled. There wasn’t a crisp line to be found anywhere on those bathroom walls. I was too far in to let this project get out of control. I loaded up two babies, ran to Hobby Lobby (because remember pre-Amazon prime days?), and I bought gold paint pens. Several pens and a yardstick later, I had gorgeous eggplant stripes with gold trim on beige walls. Masterpiece! 

Many houses and many rooms have come and gone since those striped walls, but I’ve always enjoyed creating a space that feels like home to me. I’ve noticed something about that brave girl inside me that jumped right into the stripes. The boom of decorators and tastemakers and influencers on social media may have captured my appreciation for their skill, but I also believe my attention toward their craft causes me to feel paralyzed when it comes to making my own creative decisions.

So, back to the digital detox idea. When do you know enough is enough? When do you know your attachment to the apps on your phone are harmful to your creative flow? When do you feel more paralyzed than prompted in your artistic expression? 

Are you consuming more than you’re creating?

We are creative beings. We need to practice our play. We need to imagine big stories. We need to make a way of beauty in this world. 

Author A.J. Sherrill asks, “Am I so connected with the entire world, that I am disconnected with my internal self?” 

Bring out the paint brushes and aim them at your bare walls. Sling your words around until they fit together, engine to caboose. Plant the rose near the hydrangea under a canopy of jasmine. Sing the song that came to you in a dream. Crack the bat with the ball, or the ball with the bat. Study the stars. 

Create more than you consume. Here to help!