Creativity

Recently there has been a lot of time spent creating work and some sales at a local shop. Once a month I go to the shop and for three hours demonstrate my watercolors, pen and ink and greeting cards using pen and ink and colored pencils. Every month I have more sales, but by the time I'm done I crash. All I want to do is sleep. I never knew being creative could be so tiring. I am thinking about discontinuing the project. I have been disabled for a number of years and I do this mostly for self-esteem and an outlet for my talents. Family and friends are a big part of what I do so it be just as easy to just do it for the fun and not worry about being "on" once a month. What does an artist do to decompress? What do they do to recover  their creative abilities? Many years ago I did the Artist's Way book and this is how all this started. I found out by journaling I could find answers to conflicts I had and resolve them. The more I did this the more creative I became. Today I can paint every day but I get so tired. I am older now so perhaps it is just part of not having the energy I once had. My blog has suffered and I rarely find time for it. I have outside interests as well but these have suffered. Rarely is there interest on my blog so perhaps it is time to end it. I just don't seem to find the time anymore. Recently I began to experience more spiritual life but this too began to create time problems and I wasn't sure how to resolve them so I cut back on the spiritual activities. This blog has become more like a web-journal and I do not get enough time to really get to it. I have been thinking about joining a group of other artists to see how they resolve their creative impasses. Recently a group of studios have opened up in town and perhaps I can become part of this group. One thing is clear, this thing has changed for me and I have to decide where I am going to go with it. Do I continue and see where it leads and learn how to manage my resources or do I go back to a more spiritual path and find more time for a Higher Power? My family relationships have deteriorated and some perhaps irretrievably.
     One of the benefits of creativity is that it introduces you to something that makes you feel good about yourself. There is investigating the various aspects of design and art history. There is exploring new art techniques and the possibility of meeting people with similar interests. I have met many artists over the years but never really considered myself a creative type. All that has changed this year as long-ago conflicts have resolved themselves. More and more I find myself heading in this direction and I have thought that perhaps if things can continue to resolve there may be a return to employment. I have moderate asthma so I do have other issues  other than my disability. I have other health-concerns but with new creativity some of this may also resolve. Creativity is a wonderful gift. It is so nice to be intuitive and have ideas erupt out of nowhere. Some of this has left me. There is the danger of too much sugar and caffeine, these things stifle my creativity. They drain me. If others have ideas about how to resolve these issues and want to share your insights it would be nice to hear from you. Thank you. God bless. Dale