Episode 4: How to Live Creatively (Even When You're Busy)

In this episodeI interview my best friend Betsy Bertram about creativity as a way of living—what she calls the art of life. Betsy shares how creativity can live inside everyday moments (even when life is busy), and why creative practice is one of the clearest pathways we have to intuition, healing, and freedom.We talk about how our culture makes it easy to consume creativity and harder to create, and why co-creation—cooking together, making something with your hands, gathering in community—can feel like medicine.Topics we exploreCreativity as “bringing intention” and doing things in a unique wayWhy creativity expands when we release perfectionism and outcome-obsessionTemporary art: meals, mandalas, sketches, and why impermanence is liberatingCreative practice as a doorway to intuition (and why Betsy can’t really separate the two)The difference between consuming art vs. co-creatingHow time scarcity becomes a creativity block—and practical ways Betsy works with itPortable creativity tools: keeping a journal + pens + knitting nearbyThe story of Betsy’s dad’s “no rules” journaling practice—and what it teaches about freedomWhat kids understand about creativity that adults often forgetWhy community makes creativity feel safer and more aliveQuick-fire favoritesBetsy shares some of her favorite creative tools + books:Favorite tools: blank journal, colorful pens (for mandalas), portable creative suppliesFavorite creativity books:The Book of Alchemy (Suleika Jaouad)The Creative Act (Rick Rubin)Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert)MentionedThe Artist’s Way by Julia CameronMorning pages + art journalingMandala practice as a simple, accessible creativity ritualYoga as a creative, embodied practiceBetsy’s upcoming retreatBetsy is co-leading an October retreat on embodied creativity with author and creative writing professor Stephanie Elizondo Griest(Art Above Everything). It includes yoga, writing, nourishing meals, and a beautiful mountain setting near Asheville during peak leaf season.Retreat link: https://www.betsybertram.com/workshops-1/2026/10/15/creative-embodiment-at-writing-yoga-retreatStephanie’s book: Art Above Everything (add link if you want) Get full access to Alisha’s Substack at yokeandabundance.substack.com/subscribe