In the course of a regular work day, I often have thousands of ideas fly through my head faster than I can remember them. These thoughts are mixed with sporadic episodes of spontaneous music-making, singing, and dancing. Sometimes I like to just “be” and let my thoughts fly far, far away and disappear. When I am just “being,” I like to “be” myself to the core.

Inspired by my authentic movement therapist, Draza Jansky, I decided to dedicate Saturday to making music, painting, dancing, sleeping, and eating the entire day. No internet. Very little phone. I awoke with zero anxiety. Nothing to look back on, nothing to look forward to. I was simply present. When my thoughts wandered to yesterday, or I started to feel anxiety, or I craved the computer, I simply changed something in myself. I shifted from dancing to painting, from eating to playing the guitar, from gazing into the canyon to singing, or from dancing vigorously to swaying slowly. And it worked! Full day meditation. Full body freedom. Literally, I felt a tingle of freedom in my neck that I had never felt before. There were many more effects on my body, but I’ll keep my description short.

Now I’m integrating this new-found sense of freedom into my daily life. One of my teachers says that happiness and joy come first, then the drumming, dancing, and singing come. You drum because you are happy. You cannot pursue happiness through making music. In fact, my teacher says you cannot find happiness at all because happiness has always been here. It has always been now. If you try to go find happiness, you will fail. Happiness originates within us. I regularly experience the idea of here and now bliss in little spurts, so I thought I’d try a whole day.

Words don’t come close to conveying the bliss. And, I don’t remember everything about Saturday because keeping memories was not a priority. Here’s how my day generally went:

Early Morning: Wake up, drink tea, gaze into the canyon, eat cereal, listen to the rain
Late Morning: Paint, paint more, play my original songs on the guitar, paint, walk into the canyon
Early Afternoon: Eat sandwich, drink water, twirl around my house, play guitar and sing, paint
Mid Afternoon: Play piano, drink tea, climb up the walls upside down, smell flowers, paint, nap
Late Afternoon: Get a massage, drink water, eat another sandwich, play guitar, drum
Evening: Dance with my shadows, read a book, go to sleep

You may ask “Didn’t you get bored?” Not at all. I was so fascinated the entire day. I especially enjoy that the moments have come and gone. Next time I make the same music or look at the art that I created, it will be completely different than what was in the moment of creation.

Music & wellness tip today: Drum out of happiness. Do not try to find happiness in the drumming.

What’s it like to spontaneously create for you? What medium do you use (art, music, dance, more…)?

Photo courtesy of Max Vuong.