Recently, I received a lovely message from Jolanta, who shares about creativity and inspiration through her Akimirkų Gaudyklė accounts on YouTube and Instagram. Our warm and encouraging conversation touched on themes of creativity, listening, and deep presence. Guided by Jolanta’s thoughtful questions, I also share some practical reminders that help me personally along the creative path. You can listen to the full conversation in Lithuanian here, or find below a shortened version text in English.
Huge thanks to Jolanta and to you for continuing to be part of my inspiration and creative journey!
✨ Wildish Wonder — A Conversation with Asta Rudzinskaitė on Creativity, Listening, and Letting Go
Jolanta: Today on our creative date, I’m thrilled to welcome our guest, Asta Rudzinskaitė — storyteller, writer, mother, and the heart behind the Wildish Wonder blog. Asta also creates what she calls “creative pages,” a kind of visual journaling. And something I love — she describes herself as a listener. Asta, welcome!
Asta: Thank you so much. That’s a beautiful introduction. Like all of us, I’m a multifaceted person, but yes, this description feels very true to where I’m at right now.
Jolanta: Let’s start at the beginning. Could you share how your blog Wildish Wonder came to life?
Asta: It started over ten years ago, during a trip through Argentina. I remember sitting in a car, looking out at these endless landscapes, feeling so much moving inside me. I wanted to capture that — not necessarily things I liked or that were easy — but the transformation happening within. I challenged myself: I’d write every week about something that felt difficult, and explore how I could reframe it or find something beautiful in it.
At first, the blog was called to love what is. Eventually, as life changed — I got married, became a mother — the tone and content shifted. One day I reread Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and the word wildish struck me. Not just wild, but something softer, mysterious, alive. It reminded me of the wonder I see in my kids, always discovering, always in awe. That’s how Wildish Wonder was born.
Jolanta: That sense of childlike wonder — it’s such a powerful energy to create from. And I love that you called yourself a listener. What does that mean to you?
Asta: It’s funny — I used to think being a good speaker was most important. But over time I’ve realized that listening is its own kind of art. When you’re truly listening — without jumping in, without trying to fix — it creates healing. It creates space. I’ve seen it in deep listening sessions I do, with adults and even with children. Just letting someone finish their sentence can be powerful. They often find their own answers in that space.
Jolanta: You’ve mentioned that writing is part of your listening practice — almost like a meditation?
Asta: Exactly. Every morning, I try to write what Julia Cameron calls “morning pages” — just let everything spill out without editing or correcting. It’s like a tuning fork for my inner world. I notice what’s still echoing from yesterday, what’s bubbling up about tomorrow. Often, I end up with little notes for myself — reminders, insights, even to-do lists. It’s how I hear what’s really going on inside.
🌿 Creative Threads and the Everyday Sacred
Jolanta: Your blog is rich with so many different themes — motherhood, minimalism, healing, even things like microdosing. How do you choose what to write about?
Asta: I follow what moves me. Over the years, I’ve written around 150 pieces — reflections, interviews, personal essays. I’ve explored everything from conscious menstruation to Mongolian baby-feeding customs. One season it might be the Marie Kondo method, another it’s natural vision healing. It’s a living archive of what’s been alive in me at any given moment.
Jolanta: That openness — to all experiences, not just “beautiful” ones — feels really integral to your approach.
Asta: Yes, it’s about meeting life where it is, not just where it’s easy. And noticing the small, miraculous things in the everyday. That’s creativity to me — being awake to what’s already here, right in front of us.
🎨 The Flow of Visual Journaling
Jolanta: Let’s talk about the visual side of your creative practice — those poetic, layered pages you sometimes share online. How do those come to life?
Asta: It usually starts with a phrase — something I’ve written in my morning pages or heard in passing that lingers. I’ll then build a page around it using collage, stickers, fragments of text. Sometimes it’s just a single word that I repeat across the page. It’s not decorative — it’s expressive. A way for the idea to move through form.
Jolanta: Do you make these every day?
Asta: No, not daily — they come more like waves. Lately, I’ve been in a quieter creative season, more reflective. But the desire is always there. The practice of combining words and imagery grounds me in a deep, tactile way. Even choosing colors or shapes becomes part of the storytelling.
Jolanta: And how does it feel to share them?
Asta: It’s vulnerable. Every time I post something, I feel that moment of hesitation — will this connect with anyone? But the moment I share it, I let it go. I’ve expressed it, and that’s enough. What happens after isn’t mine to manage.
🌊 The Rhythm of Creation and Letting Go
Jolanta: Do you ever fear that inspiration won’t return?
Asta: Oh, absolutely. That fear visits often: “Maybe this was the last good idea.” But then something stirs again. A sentence arrives. A color combination. I’ve learned to trust the cycle. It’s like breath — inhale, exhale, pause. The pause doesn’t mean it’s over. It means space is being made.
Jolanta: What helps you through those pauses?
Asta: Two things: regular writing, even if it’s just a few lines, and remembering that creativity doesn’t always mean producing. Sometimes it’s being still, watching how light moves through a window, letting the world speak first. That’s why silence matters — even five minutes a day to simply stop and listen can change everything.
Jolanta: What would you say to someone who wants to begin creating but feels hesitant?
Asta: Begin in a way that’s just for you. A notebook, a folder on your phone, a corner of your day. Don’t worry about sharing yet. Let it be yours. And when you’re ready, you’ll know. We don’t need permission to be creative — we just need practice. And patience.
🌟 Final Reflections
Jolanta: One last question — what has been the biggest lesson of your creative life so far?
Asta: That creating is enough. That not everything has to be seen, liked, or validated to be valuable. And that the most sacred part of creativity is showing up — not to impress, but to express. To listen inwardly. To say “yes” when the idea whispers, and then to let it move through you.
Jolanta: Thank you, Asta. This has been such a nourishing and inspiring conversation.
Asta: Thank you. I’m so glad to have shared this space with you.
Tags: creativity deep listening inspiration women who run with the wolves writing
