When I write and draw for SuzZine each month I tend to not share a whole ton about myself. One of the reasons for this is to encourage others to explore their own curiosity about themselves rather than to simply absorb more bla bla information from me and all that other information that is constantly coming at us these days. Especially digital droll.
Each day as an artist and author I have a choice. How much do I share? What do I share? Why do I share? When do I share?
For example, today I spent from 12:30 to 4:00 PM making and preparing food for the week. As an artist, I could have decided to share this food prep process in a myriad of ways. I might have drawn the process of cooking or illustrated the recipes I used. I could have made a video of a favorite recipe of the day for you. Or I could even start a blog about cooking and healthy eating. I did think about stopping to draw—saying things to myself like "Shouldn't I be sharing about myself with my art?"
No, I do not need to.
I do not need "shoulds" and I do not need to share everything about my days. And here is why. The work of drawing is vastly different for me than the job of preparing food for my family.
My drawing is for me. I draw first for my eyes, heart, and spirit. For my metal health too, if I am honest. Drawing calms me like nothing else in the world can, even meditation or yoga.
Cooking on the other hand is more like a job for me. A part of what I do to make sure our family is well fed with healthy meals prepared from scratch. And I DO mean from scratch. I even cook dried beans until they are soft, and full of flavor.
So what does all this have to do with intrapersonal intelligence?
Here is the leap. I know what activities feed my inner soul, my heart, and my mind—and which don't. I am constantly curious (Ha, I even wrote a book about conscious curiosity). Then, as I uncover my own personal nuggets of truth, I wonder how I can spark intrapersonal intelligence and creative curiosity in others. Really, I do!
My inner world is so interesting and creative, and weird, and non-stop, and exciting, and nerve wracking, and emotional that I cannot imagine living without these inner dialogues. I love my strange brain. My inner intelligence. My own tender stories.
Don't you? I mean, aren't you curious about what makes you tick?
Once we get curious, then we can ask why, how, and what. Once we look inside we can dig up our tender stories and allow them to breathe and live both inside of us then eventually outside in the world. We can get curious about how our tender stories can bring meaning to the larger world.
But first, we need to develop our intrapersonal intelligence. That ability to explore our inner workings, our dark secrets, our weaknesses and yes, our strengths too!
SuzZine is made with with you in mind and a huge serving of curiosity, exploration, and love.
Thank you for reading,
Namasté. (May the light in you mingle with the light in me).
