Finding Creative Peace in Downtown Bakersfield: Inspiration at the Betty Younger Sculpture Garden

Today I dropped Emma at school to leave town on a choir tour, fighting panic all the way. She forgot her sunglasses. I had forgotten to fetch her spending money. I was afraid she had somehow forgotten to pack her choir dress.

My heart sends my mind a message when I take time to nibble on a creativity morsel randomly in my day.

That was an overwritten way to say:

“Taking short chunks of time for writing every once in a while makes me happy.”

When I feel unsettled, I am nearly worthless as a writer.

Do you know what I mean?

My feet shuffle on the floor and my shoulders get either tight or droopy. My eyes can’t focus on the page and before I know it, my motivation has completely left me.

I righted one of those wrongs when I noticed the Betty Younger Sculpture Gardens doors were wide open at seven in the morning. I was on my way home, still befuddled, when I turned around and took myself back to where the sun was reflecting off water and large pieces of metal had been formed into what some might say looked like abstract flames reaching toward the sky.

I took my notebook out of my backseat and strode with as much confidence as I could to one of the tables in the courtyard garden. The emptiness of the setting took on a hopeful appearance, almost as if the space was as eager as I to move from foot shuffling to heart centered.

One long hand page later, I was at peace and prepared to go home to my office and get the rest of the day’s work accomplished. I also realized how important it is for me to know where secret soul places like this exist within my city so that in those times of stress I can access them easily without having to think about it.

1. Trust your subconscious mind to deliver you to every creative trick your unconscious mind tells you isn’t possible. Your subconscious mind can trump your befuddled unconscious every time.
2. When you are having positive creative times, know what it took to get you there. Celebrate the path and agree you can find your way back whether or not you drop pebbles or breadcrumbs along the path.
3. Enjoy your shuffling feet and mooshy mind from time to time. Don’t scold it or shame it or judge it out of existence. It’s all part of the process. What a dull world it would be if everything was always hunky dory. Nothing interesting would ever get created!

What hidden treasures are tucked away in your neighborhood, sweet spots of peace where you can allow your creativity free?

The Betty Younger Sculpture Garden is found on Truxtun Avenue in Downtown Bakersfield, just east of Bank of America on Truxtun and Chester. I don’t know its exact hours of operation, but I do know there are plentiful chairs, beautiful flowers and yes, intriguing art for you to enjoy and experience.

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Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Spring, 2014 and beyond. 

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