Week 6: The Artist's Way — It's a Rich Man's World
Money, Money, Money. Must be funny.
This week’s chapter was about abundance. For context, I am a (nearly) 25-year-old magazine writer who is usually broke. But, also not really. Together, my husband and I make enough money to cover our bills and have some fun.
In truth, I’m really bad at budgeting and saving. I spend too much on things like eating out and going to bars. Still, I’ve never felt like I’ve had an abundance of money. I very often think to myself things like, “if I had the money for it I’d do xyz” or “if I was rich I’d buy xyz.”
Now, abundance when it comes to love, friends, life—that I can luckily report back that I do experience.
The author also discusses the idea of luxury. What resonated with me was the idea of the luxury of time. I struggle with feeling like I never have enough time (something you may have caught onto if you’ve been reading these). But the book reminded us that to be able to create, we have to give ourselves time. So, I really tried to give myself more time this week. Not just time to write, but time to read and time to do nothing at all. Doing nothing at all is the hardest for me, but I’m working on it.
Another part that resonated with me this week was to remember that when there are things that may seem “silly” in the recovery process, we need to beware of calling it silly. I have most definitely called the whole thing “silly” to friends while talking about The Artist’s Way, so now I’ve been making a conscious effort to try not to do so anymore (even though there were a lot of silly tasks we had to do for week 6)
One of said silly task was to bake something, which I did on Saturday morning. I made (really dry and somewhat burnt) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I get so bored baking, honestly. All the measuring, all the timing. You know how they say baking is a science…well I am not a woman in STEM that’s all I’m saying. But I did it.
Another two tasks were picking five rocks and five flowers throughout the week. This brought up a point of synchronicity for the week, albeit a sad one. My friend’s dog passed away recently and they asked people to bring big rocks for the grave. When I was leaving my apartment one night, I literally tripped over a big rock that I didn’t see in my path under the stairwell. It definitely felt like it meant something that this rock crossed my path so literally when I needed one both for this task and for my friend. I picked it up and took it back up to my apartment before heading out.
I took my dog on a walk at a nearby park on Saturday, determined to find more rocks and flowers. There were a few, but none were impressive and I will admit I felt weird picking up rocks and flowers that I wouldn’t do anything with, so I let them be, but enjoyed slowing down and looking at them.
Another task that was interesting was to track my spending to see if what I spend my money on aligns with my life and goals. This week, the majority of my money went towards my student loans, which I guess does align with my goals because I went to school to get access to jobs I wanted. The next highest spending was food and drinks, which were fun times out with friends but definitely a place I need to cut back both my time and money in order to focus on myself and writing more. I had to get gas, also unavoidable I guess since I don’t live in a place where I could use public transit to get to work. Finally, I spent some money on going to see Carrie the musical (which was my Artist’s Date this week) and a drag show, which I always love going and supporting local drag artists, so that is also money well spent in my mind.
Another task was to write five letters to people you wanted to hear from, so I wrote those. I especially enjoyed writing one to my brother, who will be starting his senior year of colllege this fall. I gave him a lot of advice in it and I hope he finds it helpful, but I also enjoyed thinking back on my senior year while writing it.
Another task, which at the time I remember thinking was “silly,” was to accept freebies. I thought to myself “where would you even get a freebie this week?” So that one had all but slipped my mind until I was out at a sushi bar eating before taking myself to see Carrie, and I’d finished my glass of Sake when the bartender asked me, “Do you drink Pinot Grigio?”
If you know me, you know I love Pinot Grigio, so I say, “Yes, why?”
“Well, I accidentally poured an extra glass if you want it.”
A freebie!
I gladly accepted the wine and it was delicious!
Cheers to another week and cheers to abundance in its many forms.
Painting:
Still Life with Bottle, Carafe, Bread, and Wine
Claude Monet
c. 1862/1863