Those days of wandering in a creative desert feel dismal and dry. Add the co-conspirators of low energy, frustration, and the proverbial, ever pressing time crunch, and that void is encouraged to feel even more cavernous. Now one feels uncomfortable, itchy, pushing to accomplish or fearing that there may be too little to show for our efforts. In reality, neither the push nor goal lines are evidence of inspiration.
Accomplishment is an objective, creating is a practice. Having material evidence of creative work is of course valuable, yet we cannot really discover what may inspire without showing up. So just do something to keep a pulse. Play around with no agenda. Take a slice of time to take a few pictures, write two sentences, doodle, strum, review a past work, whatever. Then again later, or tomorrow, take another few minutes to do it again. Just a few moments of practice is movement, and a playful challenge to that annoying chirping cricket who still wants serenade in the background for a while.
Accomplishment is an objective, creating is a practice. Having material evidence of creative work is of course valuable, yet we cannot really discover what may inspire without showing up. So just do something to keep a pulse. Play around with no agenda. Take a slice of time to take a few pictures, write two sentences, doodle, strum, review a past work, whatever. Then again later, or tomorrow, take another few minutes to do it again. Just a few moments of practice is movement, and a playful challenge to that annoying chirping cricket who still wants serenade in the background for a while.
