BlissDom

One of the tools of The Artist's Way is something called and "artist date". The idea being that just as you need to carve out time in your life to nurture a new relationship (a date) you also need to carve out time in your life to nurture creativity (an artist date). Just like more conventional dates, they can take many forms from staying in and renting a movie, going for a walk, trying a different restaurant, or more extravagant measures, like going to a museum or on a trip.

This weekend, I am on THE extravagant artist date: Blissdom 09. At first, the idea of a blogging conference seemed a bit strange to me, I'll admit. Isn't blogging something we all do at 11:30 at night before bed, writing about something and then checking up on all our blog buddies? I mean, there aren't tooth-brushing conferences or packing-tomorrow's-lunch conferences, why that other nightly ritual that happens to involve a computer. But then, I figured, I've never been to Nashville, and I wanted to hear Jen Lancaster speak. So my giant artist's date came to be.

Day one is down, and I'm soo happy I came! For some, like me, blogging is that thing we do before we go to bed. But for others, it's a business, a networking opportunity, a way to reach out and make friends. And while I've tasted a bit of that in my own blogging journey, I certainly haven't utilized blogging to the degree as most of the people here. So I'm learning a lot. Lots of ideas to improve on my little nightly ritual. And I've met lots of really great people whose pages I'm planning to check up on in the days to come.

In much the same way that the Artist's Way is a journey to creativity and self discovery, blogging is a journey to the same destinations. I started the whole blog, really, to find myself again and to rediscover the distinct voice that I once had but had somehow lost. The creativity came later. More interesting was that the assignments this week (theme: abundance) mimicked almost exactly the monthly goal setting I have been doing on the blog. (throw out clothing you no longer wear, change your living space, track your expenses, look for little gifts in nature, reach out to friends). That got me thinking of the creative journey not only in blogging, but in every aspect of life.

So, this weekend, as I attend this conference, meet new friends, gather new ideas, and try new Little Debbie snack cakes (they're everywhere! and they're delicious!) I'm hoping to come away with some new ideas not only for the blog, but for the rest of the journey, as well.

Sweet dreams, all