The Power of Positive Rewards

I have always believed in the positive power of rewards – especially when it comes to giving them to myself. In the old days when I could afford it I would treat myself to weekend getaways. I would spend the days sitting by the pool, walking on the beach or shopping  and the evening at a baseball game, the movies or at a great dining spot.

These days I am living a much simpler life. My week days are not nearly as hectic since I spend most of the time writing or working on online class lectures while the weekends sometimes turn into total chaos with everyone in the family wanting to go in different directions.

Now I am finding simple ways to spend my weekdays of retirement – like a trip to the library to research my latest story, or a trip to the book store to see what is new on the shelves. And I still try to find time to reward myself, like with a trip to the Denver Art Museum to see its current show, Modern Masters, a showing of artwork ranging from Van Gogh to Andy Warhol. How great to reward myself for working at my writing the rest of the time. I always enjoy the works of the French Impressionists and I don’t think I’d actually ever seen a Salvadore Dali up close before. I have to admit,  though, that looking at a huge wall of a Jackson Pollock drip painting reminded me of my brain, constantly going in different directions. The overall effect was overwhelming even as it was exhilarating.

It was a wonderful, restful way to spend the morning, and I breathed a sigh of contentment as I walked away. How great to spend time amidst so much creativity. I don’t know if I really understand art as such. I know I can’t even handle a paint brush to paint a wall, let alone create a sketch or something as magnificent as these works, but I do appreciate the individual creativity it takes to come up with ideas and then to transform those ideas into something artistic. And I know the courage it takes to share your vision with someone else and hope they understand the creativity if not the actual vision.

After the show, I took myself to lunch, and found my mind starting to click with creative ideas of my  book I am working on, and I also came up with the idea for this blog. The champagne and dessert weren't such bad rewards either!
own. Suddenly I came up with several new ideas for the

Rewarding yourself with creativity and beauty, even if is sometimes not entirely understood can be its own reward. For certain it is never a waste. It can stimulate your brain and open up new avenues of creativity, even as it soothes the soul.

So here's a tip of the champagne glass to positive rewards!