GOING WITH THE CREATIVE FLOW
Creativity in its many guises is increasingly being recognised as an important aid to wellbeing. The MEAA Wellness Committee is spotlighting the creative endeavors of members to highlight the importance of creativity as an outlet for positive wellbeing.
With social and political unrest overseas and cost-of-living pressures on the homefront, 2024 is shaping up to be a year for prioritising self-care and utilising our strengths. Research has shown how creative activities can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, boost self-esteem, improve our immune system and release the feel-good chemicals that regulate our moods.
The American father of positive psychology, Dr Martin Seligman, identified creativity as a significant way to increase individual wellbeing by encouraging engagement with our inner and outer worlds. He describes engagement as “being one with the music” and it’s experienced when we take part in activities that give us a sense of flow. This is when we are so absorbed in an activity, time has stopped, we lose self-consciousness and become engaged in the present moment. These creative endeavours could include painting, writing, singing or crafting.
Share your creative endeavour
If you have a creative outlet that helps you find this state of flow, the MEAA Wellness Committee would love you to share it with us. Over the next three months, we will spotlight these endeavours to highlight the importance of creativity as an outlet for positive wellbeing. Please email your example to mwc@meaa.org
Our first contribution is from new MEAA committee member Zara Michales, with her poem, Dear Boy. She tells us how it came about.
“I wrote Dear Boy back in 2020; it was the first poem I ever wrote. It flowed out of me as I was skating the streets of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, listening to ’90s hip hop beats. Line after line pinged out, and I’d stop and write it down in my notes app. It was inspired by my nearest and dearest friends, my brothers, and dedicated to anyone who struggles with mental health issues, who are still chasing their dreams.”
You can watch Zara perform her poem here.
DEAR BOY
Sitting sky high with a fishing rod,
The boy asked,
‘Mr Moon, do you believe in God?
I heard dreams work, but do they hurt?’
He was awkward, not good at the chalkboard
Couldn’t keep up pace,
Head in space.
Not good at school,
He felt like a fool.
Hide, don’t cry, you need to stay cool.
‘Mr Moon, what’s the remedy?
My hands are buzzing electricity
I can’t stop moving,
Everything is so confusing.
Stand up, sit down,
Speak up, be the class clown.’
‘Mr Moon, is this what they call insane,
When you’re in this amount of pain?
Mr Moon, please explain.’
‘Dear Boy,
I don’t know about God
Roll up your rod
Hold out your hand
Let me show you what I understand.’
They took off to Munich where
Beethoven poured it out into music.
Whisked away to France,
Where they saw a street dance.
An art display by Mr Monet
In Rome they read Dante.
Saw Da Vinci paint Ms Lisa
Flew to India
And bear-hugged Mother Teresa.
‘See, Boy, the buzzing is magic.
Make sure you grab it.
Turn it into a dream,
Like Martin Luther King’s.
Don’t debate it, just translate it,
Into feelings that you can hear,
Paint a portrait of your fear.’
‘Just let it flow
From it, a masterpiece will grow,
Sky high, like Uncle Angelo’s.
So, cast out your line,
Who knows what you will find.
‘Create a world of colour,
Then show it to your brother,
And when you’re mad,
Or feeling sad,
Write it out on a notepad
And read it out loud to your dad.
‘But whatever the fear,
Please don’t disappear.
I’ll watch over you from way up here.
Dear Boy, you are not alone.’
He pointed to his chest and said,
‘This is home.’
‘I must go now
The sun is rising
And soon she will be shining.
Don’t miss out on this day,
You best be on your way.
Climb back down
Plant your feet on the ground
There is so much adventure to be found.
‘Go now,
She is waking and the world is for your taking
More stories in the making.
Until then, Dear Boy,
I will be waiting.’
Zara Michales
