Sobriety and the Art of Being Present

One thing I’ve noticed since getting sober is how much it has changed my creativity. I don’t think I realized how dull and numb my brain had become until it wasn’t anymore.

I can concentrate now. I can sit with an idea longer. I notice details. I experiment more, and I’m much more willing to keep working at something when it doesn’t immediately turn out the way I pictured it. My mind just feels clearer and more curious.

Art has become such a huge part of my life in sobriety, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I have more patience for it, more focus for it, and honestly, more imagination. There’s so much more room in my head for creativity when I’m not constantly dulling everything down.

I’ll be five years sober at the end of October, and one of the greatest gifts of that has been getting my own mind back. I didn’t just become more present in my life. I became more present in my own creativity too, and I think my art is better because of it.

xoxo-Jenny