At times, my world, or life, feels a bit like a paradox. On the one hand, I love science and fact, understanding how and why things work and exist. On the other, I believe in the supernatural, the unseen, the literally unprovable. And it is that unseen aspect that we will explore.

This week’s creative prompt is spirit. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for creative work, personal development and even a little self-care.

Spirit means many things, as can be seen below. Yet the main aspect I want to explore is its unseen nature, and how close the unseen and the seen really are.

When Paul writes in the New Testament (Galatians 5:22–23) about the Spirit, an unseen entity, he explains that although the Spirit can’t be seen, its fruits or its practical application in life is visible. The unseen and the seen are a lot closer than we think. It’s the same in most belief systems, through both good and evil actions.

And spirit isn’t limited to religion. The word is used in business, sport and other activities to inspire actions and make choices.

spirit, spirits, spirited

Definitions

spirit — noun

• the non-physical part of a person
• a supernatural being: shrines to nature spirits
• the prevailing or typical quality, mood, or attitude of a person, group, or period of time
• a person’s prominent quality or with their role in a group or movement
• a person’s mood
• a person’s attitude
• the quality of courage, energy, and determination
• the real meaning or intention behind something

verb; (spirits, spiriting, spirited) convey rapidly and secretly

Spirit can be an Individual or mass noun and is used with or without an adjective. It also has a related verb.

Related

soul, psyche, inner self, inner being, essential being, ego, id, ka, atman, life force, animating principle, vital spark, breath of life, ghost, phantom, spectre, apparition, wraith, shadow, presence, temperament, disposition, character, nature, personality, complexion, mind, heart, attitude, real/true meaning, essence, substance.

Antonyms

body, flesh

spirit is summed up for me as something unseen. And I believe it can be both personal and inanimate.

Let the prompt ‘spirit’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

• writing fiction
• journaling
• art journaling
• songwriting
• photography
• painting
• composing
• blog posts
• art therapy
• anything that could use a little nudge to begin
  

Writing prompt

A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the word spirit to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. It’s time to let your creative writing skills free.

“That’s the spirit,” they said. Little did they know what spirit was leading me..

Writing Prompt Expanded

I wanted something fun and open for this writing prompt. Although the speech and response are quite direct, the context isn’t. We touch on an action of some sort and an unseen reason why our protagonist, who is also our narrator, is acting this way.

That’s what this prompt is all about, explaining how and why someone is acting in a certain way. So let’s explore.

• What is the setting?
• What is the action?
• What spirit is behind it all?
  

The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. You could go down the supernatural route of unseen angels or demons, jinns or other animistic beings. Or, another more literal spirit in the form of alcohol. There is also the possibility of a previous event that leads to feelings being revisited, creating a spirit of fear or anxiety or bravery.

Enjoy and may the spirit of literary creativity enable your words to flow on the page.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.

• Character: ghost
• Place: kitchen
• Item: closed diary
  

Journal prompt

Sitting down and writing in a journal is an important part of my day. I look back and review what I have done. I do my best to think about why I have done something. What was driving me? Why did I do this or that? What was the spirit within prompting and inspiring? The reason for this is to try to understand the reasons and then change my actions for the better if needed… and that is quite often.

Three ideas for your journal

• explore why you did a particular action today
• draw, paint or collage a representation of spirit
• draw a tree, give it a living soul or spirit.. does it smile?
  

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘spirit’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. Life is a mix of seen and unseen things; creativity is a mix of unseen inspiration within and its seen creation.

• capture some clouds with your camera as the spirit of the wind blows them across the sky
• what colour represents your own spirit… paint it
• what unseen emotions drive your songwriting or poetry?
  

Let ‘spirit’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week.

Finally…

As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, a moment in your journal, something a little more grandiose or any creative project or idea.

As mentioned before, this isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. If you do create anything using them, I would love to see or hear about it. Leave a link in the comments below or tag me #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.

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Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

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