Three and a half years ago, I started a personal blog which later grew into something more. The blog that began as jennifertrijo.com is now The Serenade Files, my online publication, with its own dedicated domain. I’ve decided to keep it separate from my personal blog so that I can continue to highlight the accomplishments of many Australian creatives who continue to inspire me with their tenacity and expansive imaginations.
Such is the nature of creativity. You set out to realise an idea and through your interactions and life experience the initial seed of that idea becomes something altogether different. I’m proud of the stories I’ve been able to tell through this platform, but in the years that I’ve focused on telling other people’s stories, I’ve neglected to tell my own.
I feel it’s time for creative introspection and the rebirth of my own personal blog, my meditations on creativity. Inspired by philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, this blog will document the psychological, spiritual, and philosophical aspects of my creative experience. Originally written in Greek, my copy of Meditations was translated into English by Martin Hammond. One can only strive to express oneself so eloquently. It is a lofty goal but one I consider worthy, hence I’m commencing my meditations on creativity by handpicking some of my favourite verses from Book 4 of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations:
- No action should be undertaken without aim, or other than in conformity with a principle affirming the art of life
- Love the art which you have learnt, and take comfort in it. Go through the remainder of your life in sincere commitment of all your beings to the gods, and never making yourself tyrant or slave to any man
- All is ephemeral, both memory and the object of memory
- Think always of the universe as one living creature, comprising one substance and one soul: how all is absorbed into this one consciousness; how a single impulse governs all its actions; how all things collaborate in all that happens; the very web and mesh of it all
- No, you do not have thousands of years to live. Urgency is on you. While you live, while you can, become good
I hope you find inspiration here, whether through my writings, music, or the art which I will meditate on through this blog. Keep listening, observing, and creating because inspiration is all around you.
Jennifer Trijo 