Confidence

9" x 12" collage painting: "Confidence," Courtney Putnam

I made this piece in college, which was about ten years ago. In my "Dreams, Imagination, and Creativity" class (yes, I went to an alternative college -- Fairhaven College to be exact), we had to keep a creativity journal of all of our writing, art, and other musings. This piece above was one of the pages in my journal. If I am remembering correctly, I was responding to a Julia Cameron exercise from The Vein of Gold--which we were required to read for the class, lucky us. The exercise involved creating a "Treasure Map," which is essentially a collage that is aimed "specifically at a desired outcome...and they can be used to galvanize the spiritual world to produce desired material results." These maps may also reflect accomplishments you wish to have or qualities you wish to embody.

I struggled with confidence all through my college years, and particularly struggled with my "quietude." Creating my treasure map above helped to remind how my quiet nature was a gift and enabled me to feel deeply, listen to others intently, and feed my creative urges.

During my two abundance box workshops, the issue of confidence emerged for several of the participants. I felt the energy in the room shift to a feeling of resonance and relief each time someone mentioned wanting to feel more confident in an area of their life. For so many of us, the feeling of confidence waxes and wanes and when it's on its waning cycle, things can feel like they are crumbling. During these times, I find it helpful embrace the areas for which we feel lack of confidence. After all, you may discover, like I did, that you hold powerful gifts you never fully understood you had.


Try this: Create a Confidence "Treasure Map"

Using collage, glitter, paint, crayons, or whatever you wish, depict an area of your life for which you'd like to feel more confidence. As you create, remember to focus on why it is you'd like to feel more confident in this area of your life. And let yourself feel positive about the areas that feel strong and lovely and joyful, too.

Feel free to leave a comment and post a link to your creation!