The receptivity of the artist must never be confused with passivity. Receptivity is the artist’s holding him or herself alive and open to hear what being may speak. – Rollo May

I know artists whose medium is Life itself, and who express the inexpressible without brush, pencil, chisel, or guitar. They neither paint nor dance. Their medium is Being. Whatever their hand touches has increased life. They see and don’t have to draw. They are the artists of being alive. – Frederick Franck

A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting. – A. H. Maslow

I tend to think of creative living less in terms of honing a craft or practicing an art form and more in terms of doing everyday things creatively. Of choosing meaning over mundanity, caring and attentiveness over passivity, of approaching all that one does with a spirit of openness, creativeness, and adaptability. At the heart of creative living, I believe, is the ability to be receptive, to approach every moment with an open heart and mind and make the most of whatever life gives us. 

Learning to be receptive looks very much like learning to dance in the rain. It requires that we let go of prejudices and preconceptions, that we learn to release our grip on life and, as May says, hold ourselves alive and open to that which life reveals to us instead. Perhaps a situation doesn’t work out as planned or circumstances in a given moment aren’t ideal, receptivity teaches us to make the best of what we have—ideal or not—rather than willing it to be different. When we are receptive, we exchange the compulsion to make life as we think it should be for an acceptance of what is. This is a practice that builds inner strength and confidence. It shows us that we can adapt to changing environments, that we have the capacity to handle whatever challenges life brings our way.

Receptivity is a state that is characterized by openness and adaptability. It is also a state of readiness and active willingness. To my mind, receptivity looks very much like approaching everything one does, everything one touches, with an attitude that says, “What can I do with that?” What can I make with the materials life has given me in this unique moment? Whether I am doing laundry, cleaning my kitchen, making dinner, or going for a walk, what can I do to make this moment the most rewarding it can be? It is how we respond to these questions that determines whether or not we become, as Franck suggests, the artists of being alive. 

It is also worth noting, I think, that receptivity requires us to be present and intentional. Only when we are present and intentional are we able to really give ourselves over to the moment and make the most of what life gives us, responding with an open heart to the here-and-now. This is how we experience the simple moments of life deeply and meaningfully, even in some cases, reaching down into the archetypal depths of our experience.

*I was first introduced to the Frederick Franck quote above by a reader of this blog, and I absolutely fell in love with it when she shared it with me. Thank you, Donna! Also, my idea for this post—which is very much an impromptu piece of writing—came from a beautiful comment I received from another reader this morning on the post, On Nurturing. Thank you, Janna!