When I first started thinking about writing a blog, I was interested in doing so to explore what it means to be bohemian here in 2015 on the West Coast of California. There were other blogs that I admired, such as the Bohemian Collective, which focuses heavily on aesthetics and intrapersonal aspects of modern American bohemianism. I also have a lot of respect for the thoughtfulness and good sense of the blog the Abundant Bohemian, which offers insights and practical steps to cultivating one’s humane side. But I am interested most in what happens in the place those two things intersect, where one’s creativity and the inspiration of nature in art combine with one’s practice to refine the heart and mind.
As is true of many folks, I need artistic outlets to process experiences, people and ideas. It allows me to take each piece of experience and plaster them all together into a mosaic of understanding. Somewhere in the creative process, as I engage with materials and feelings, I arrive at a place where the right way of behaving or understanding emerges. I am coming to understand that this as the essence of bohemianism, living uniquely and authentically in thought and feeling, in behavior and spirit, using your singular creativity to craft all these components of existence into a beautiful and significant life. The books and paintings other people have made are helpful road maps, but only barely prepare one for the joy, the loss, the suffering, the love, the outrage, the elation, the fear, and the heartache we all are destined to endure. So here I will explore that intersection of creativity and the practice of living kindly, which requires constant work in progressing.
L.R.