As emotional beings, the creative has a deep well of available resources to draw from in storytelling, writing poetry, and creating artwork.
The continual dipping and diving into emotional resources while working on a project drains energy for the capacity to be fully immersed while competing with life’s cacophony. The stretching of energy resources generated from deep creative work are challenged by personal situations that demand a share of the energy pumped into creativity.
Death, divorce, illness, moving house, or reframing work life, are but a few of life’s situations that test human stamina.
What is the way forward when passion projects and life’s necessities demand attention?
The first would be to step back from the writing desk, or the canvas to consciously acknowledge medical impediments, or pack up the Ute and head into the wilderness. Creatives write these situations into characters’ lives. The lived reality poses a different scenario. Just as characters require strength to overcome the imagined challenge, creatives need renewed energy to move forward.
A hiatus while weathering life’s challenges, recharges one for what lies ahead, replenishes creativity by momentarily allowing grief, illness, etc; to hold space, or frees time to toss out unnecessary materialistic aspects of life to invite the fresh, and embrace the new.
Nurturing the creative within allows one to go on with what makes the heart sing
Creative nurturing, heals, elicits joy and and ignites the imagination with a nudge from a benevolent muse eager to fan the fires of creativity. Grab the nudge, save it in the in-tray for when the time is right.
How long should this hiatus be?
As long as it is necessary to refuel the tank for the gigantic leap ahead.
Nurturing the creative within benefits from gentle physical activity: A walk in a park, beach, a weekend getaway, and meditation, meeting old friends, helping at a soup kitchen, volunteering at the RSPCA, or randomly doing something such as taking in a morning movie for one–a few examples of how one could nurture the creative within.
Never let doubters make one feel that being a creative on a break is a cardinal sin. While it might seem to be so to those who secretly hate their day jobs, the creative alone knows how to manage the emotional energy required to create timeless works of art.
Take a creative break when the need arises, not when you have you fix one of life’s demands. Then, watch productivity soar.
A source of inspiration:
“I saw that my image was changing or fading. One of the reasons for taking a break from clubs was to be missed—not forgotten.” ~Sammy Davis
And…one more piece of motivation worth listening to:
Hakuna Matata!
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