Dose of Joy: My First Attempt at Julia Cameron’s Writing Tool, the “Artist Date”
Julia Cameron, author of bestselling book, The Artist’s Way, also wrote a more recent work called Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer. This was a perfect audiobook to complement my morning or afternoon walks in a wooded trail.
One “tool” she mentions is the “Artist Date,” where one goes on a small, solitary, inspiration-seeking adventure. Her example is a solo trip to a pet store to visit a friendly bunny. I had a different route in mind.
I had been stuck on an article due in only three days. No matter how I configured and reconfigured the outlines in my head, I couldn’t make an angle work for me.
I decided to try out one of Cameron’s artist dates for myself in hopes of sparking some new perspective along the way. I decided to start at a garden coffee shop and then proceed as inspiration struck.
Turning a hard left onto the small, garden-clad corner, I parked, secured a hot beverage and sipped amongst the Jasmine and azaleas on the coffee shop porch. Looking around after a few minutes, I wondered what to do next.
The article was supposed to be related to the downtown area, so I popped back in the car and kept driving toward a parking garage. After circling back to pick up my forgotten backpack at the coffee shop, I parked again with the next destination in mind. I walked to two memorial sites, gleaning more than enough insights for my article.
Upon circling these grounds, I picked up my backpack from the car and commenced the long walk across downtown. I would write the article at another coffee shop on the opposite side.
On the way, however, inspiration seemed to ooze from every stoop, like the fight at the barbershop that spilled, loudly, with crashing and yelling, onto the street. I passed a man with a blue pet parrot perched on the railing, casually chatting with a cafe patron as she ate lunch. I heard someone singing at the top of their lungs, and smirked at a driver waving enthusiastically as he passed by in the cement truck. I followed a child learning to push her sibling in the stroller alongside her mother. I saw a barista taking a moment to bask outside in the sun’s glow.
Upon reaching the coffee shop, like a plant infused with sunshine and fresh air, my creativity bloomed. I finished the article, taking on a more complex angle than I expected.
That morning, I was too absorbed in discovering the details of the present to think about social media, emails or anything else. I was immersed in the sights, sounds and colors of my surroundings and the people in them. That morning, I took a silent, solitary creative vacation.
In that long “Artist Date” walk between brick buildings, I observed that many things vie for our attention. But joy and meaning are in the details.
✅ My takeaway: It’s worth it to train my attention to find them.
