Artist Date aka Sabbathing

How do I reinvigorate my deepest heart and passion for life?

Reading Julie Cameron's book The Artist's Way (which is not explicitly Christian, but supports Christian values), I saw some perfect parallels to spiritual disciplines I already practice. One being authentic, open, honest prayer with my Creator in the mode of regular trash journalling. The second being a form of Sabbath.

Ms. Cameron calls her practice "The Artist Date." She suggests you take yourself out once a week to do the things your heart loves, prioritizing time, money and energy specifically focused on filling back up and playing in whatever form that takes for you as an adult, leaving you restored. At first take you might think, "This is not sabbathing. Sabbathing is serious, solemn, stoic, boring." But I disagree.

While Ms. Cameron's book is designed as a creative recovery program by way of flushing out the trash and accessing the Creator, she identifies a primary experience that connects us to our Creator. While her recommendation is not explicitly commanding physical rest, her suggested practice describes perfectly the idea of psychological rest: rest from performance. You might accidentally produce something cool in the midst of this rest, but the intention is explorative and joyfully experiential.

The Artist Date is fun, with yourself and your Creator. It gets you back in touch with your createdness, by lavishing the joy that exists by your very nature inside of you.

How sad that so many of us have forgotten how to play! How poignantly Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," (Matt. 18:3). The miracle of deciding to play again, like a child, is that doing so actually heals the fear that regularly exists among beings in a corrupted world.

Sabbath is not only demonstrated by God in the first few pages of the bible, it is commanded as the Israelites are leaving Egypt--a place they were enslaved and valued purely as objectified resources, producers rather than human beings, a common experience for even modern humans in modern society. It is so easy for us to believe we are only worth what we produce.

The command of Sabbath was a way for these humans to remember they were created, loved beings. Loved as they are, with the privilege of rest and joy, given by a graceful, generous Lord. Re-engaging with Sabbath today, through an Artist Date, has the exact same benefit, reinvigorating our hearts and minds for the work that lies ahead.

If you want to try an Artist Date, first carve out some time in your week when your mind can actually be allowed to rest and play. Even an hour or two is a great way to start. This will be a time saved and protected for recovery. Secondly, identify what activities might actually feel restorative and fun for you. These will be different for every person! These are not distractions that drain or numb, but rather the type of actions after which you feel happy and fulfilled. Budget a small amount of money that would facilitate such activities.

You're set. Let the revitalizing begin.

For more info on these activities, please check out Julie Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.