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Isn’t It Time?

November 23, 2014 By Dave Leave a Comment

Self Portrait - Ticking Away by MattysFlicks

“Self Portrait – Ticking Away” by MattysFlicks

Time is a paradox. From the perspective of before and after, from the perspective of eternity, it is infinite. From the perspective of our individual lives, however, it’s considerably more finite.

Sure, the impermanence of our time adds value. It also adds a few obstacles.

Many creatives feel pressure related to TIME:

  • My life is so packed, I don’t have time to create
  • I’m already middle-aged and what have I done with my time
  • If I haven’t figured out how to make more time by now I’ll never figure it out
  • It’s too late to start now
  • I need to make the most of the creative time I do get by working on this and only this
  • I only have so much time today, why can’t I focus . . .

Those are just a few. Chances are, you thought of one or two others while you were reading along.

Given that most of us don’t have unlimited time to create each day, there’s an inherent need to make the most of the time we do get. And, as a result, we might often feel a need to guide ourselves in a certain direction. The problem comes when we narrow the focus of our conscious minds on a predetermined course and we close ourselves off to myriad other ways we might arrive at our desired destination.

As a result, we sometimes flounder. We become cognizant of the time we’re losing, and we then become paralyzed . . . stuck.

One of the things I look forward to working on at WOTM is how to identify the desired location, then let go of a predetermined course. How to free ourselves up, so to speak, in the limited time we do have and make the most of that time.

Here’s a fact – it takes time to find time; to make time. But it’s usually there to be found and made and shaped as we’d like.

We sometimes become overwhelmed by the fragments that are left after we devote time to so many other things in our “multi-tasking” that we are sometimes tempted to accept that there’s just no time left, that it’s just not there, and as a result of often give up trying to shape it.

And make no mistake, it takes energy to find it, to shape it, but much less energy than what we give up feeling guilty or filling with resentment over not having time to do the thing we are called to do.

One of the most useful tools I have in making time for my writing is how not to feel resentment over what I used to view as lost time.

I gave myself permission recently to use some writing time for a huge work project, with the understanding that doing so would allow me to finish the project sooner, to return to my established writing routine sooner. In the past, I may have resented giving up that time. But that simple act of giving myself permission to temporarily shift my focus and my creative time/energy allowed me to complete the work project in less time. Which means, I’m back at the page now . . . without the pressure of having that project looming over my head.

Making a sacrifice of creative time is sometimes a necessity.

The trick comes in making it a temporary sacrifice and not one you make day after day after day. For then it becomes an excuse for not chasing your dream. One act (the former) is a temporary compromise while the other (the latter) tends to be the result of fear and, in the end, is really just a way out of committing . . . to yourself.

Slowing Down in Carol's Garden

Slowing Down in Carol’s Garden

If you have to make a sacrifice of some creative time, give yourself a deadline to help keep it from becoming an excuse not to create.

What do you think of these quotes?

  • “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” – William Penn
  • “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” – Carl Sandburg
  • “We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have – for their usefulness.” – Thomas Merton

Do you find yourself relating to any of them? Filling in other possibilities?

Know this, if you struggle with a lack of time or if you just haven’t mastered using the time you have effectively, you are not alone. One of the things we’ll talk about at WOTM 2015 is how to get past the challenges of trying to force yourself through your creative time. More times than not, that ends up getting in the way. We end up getting in our own way. And the time we do spend creating becomes more vexing than fun. We aren’t able to get into any flow because we end up struggling with ourselves. And that’s the opposite of the way it should be.

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Bertrand Russell

Russell’s quote brings me to a final point. Finding out the thing you are called to do and giving yourself permission to pursue it – whether that is for fifteen minutes a couple days a week, or an hour on the weekends, or an hour every morning before work, or whatever fits best with the rest of your life (and your intentions) – giving yourself permission to “drop everything and run toward your true self” as Kyran Pittman suggested we all should do – that is the best use of your time.

Wasting time doing the thing you love is so not wasting time. It’s living. It’s being.

Isn’t it time for that?


 

“Self Portrait – Ticking Away” photo above by MattysFlicks courtesy of Creative Commons.

Filed Under: Creativity, Flow, Obstacles, Uncategorized Tagged With: conscious, creativity, flow, Getting in your own way, obstacles, Time

Let Me Live Again

November 6, 2014 By Terry Price Leave a Comment

“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity” – Charles Mingus

Creativity is who we are.

The fascinating thing is that it takes a lifetime to believe that.

We are creators.

But it takes the courage, the patience, the living experience to understand it…to believe it.

We live lives desperately trying to fit in when it is the essence of life to discover, to understand our uniqueness. What is it that makes us who we are?

I remember learning in grade school that every snowflake was unique. It was different from any snowflake that had ever existed. I had trouble believing that because when I looked out into the back yard (back when it really snowed in Nashville) all I saw was a big pile of snow. All white. All cold. All solid.

But I learned that each molecule was different, even as it combined to make the whole.

And so it is with us.

I am a creator. But I am a different creator from you, my friend. You are a creator too. But you are different. But not just different. You are different in such a simple way. I think that what Mingus was trying to say is that you are different from the essence of who you are. That’s the simplicity. That’s Dorothy learning that she knew all long how to get home. That’s how George Bailey learned how he had all of the adventure and paradise he longed for right within the walls of his home and his family.

Maybe we are called to be explorers of new lands or new ideas. Maybe we are called to be explorers of our own backyards. Neither is more important than the other. Both are unique.

One of the wonderful secrets to life is finding the magic where we are. Find the magic where we are called to be. It might be on the moon or in a castle in Tuscany. But it’s just as likely to be in a small frame house in Tennessee. You see, location isn’t important. The willingness to believe, the willingness to see the magic in the everyday, the “ordinary,” is what makes it awesome. It’s what makes life and living amazing. It’s what makes us unique and special. And we are. You are. You are as simple and as complex and magnificent as Bach or any of his symphonies. Or as Charles Mingus, who was brilliant enough to “get it.”

Filed Under: Creative Writing, Creativity, Flow, myth, mythology, New Harmony, Obstacles, personal myth, personal story, Retreat, Writers, Writing, Writing Retreat Tagged With: body, Charles Mingus, conscious, emotions, expression, feelings, follow your bliss, getting in yor own way, happiness, obstacles, our essence, painting, photography, Time, unconscious, Walking meditation, who we are, writing, your passion, your true self

What If?

April 19, 2014 By Terry Price Leave a Comment

Cabo sunset 001“It always amuses me that the biggest praise for my work comes for the imagination, while the truth is that there’s not a single line in all my work that does not have a basis in reality. The problem is that Caribbean reality resembles the wildest imagination.” ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Whenever I work with writers, especially those who feel as if they’ve hit a dead end in their work, I encourage them to play the game of “what if.”

“What if” is exactly what it sounds like. And it is unrestricted. The focus of the game is to be playful and to get out of your left brain, rational, logical thinking, at least for the moment. It’s designed to return to that playful mode we experienced as children; when we made up stories and never, ever had “writer’s block.” Nothing was impossible.

What about life?

Sometimes we work so hard to live our own life story, we reach dead ends and don’t know where to turn. We reach a “life block.” We work so hard to do rational, logical, “grown-up” things and yet we move through life as if we’re not getting anywhere. People look around and ask, “is this all there is?”

The answer lies in your imagination.

If you only believe that the world of your senses, the world of your intellect, is all there is…you will be right. But, conversely, if you believe there is more, much more, maybe even life greater than your imagination, you will be right, too.

We live our lives and tell our stories, one often a metaphor for the other. Ultimately, when we write, we decide what possibilities exist for our characters. Ultimately, as we live, we decide what possibilities await for us. We build our own prisons and hold the keys to our release, but only some have the imagination to unlock the doors and venture outside. It is our logic that tells us the safety of the prison is better than the danger of the dragons that await outside.

But is the imagination that whispers “what if…”

What if you were made for slaying dragons?

What if the dragons aren’t what you thought?

What if dragons were actually quite tasty, served with an apple cranberry chutney and a decanted 1999 Brunello?

What if there are no dragons?

There are times in our life when logic and reason are necessary. But there is a season and a time for every things…times when we must escape the structured, limited, confining boundaries of our intelligence. Great works of art are not fashioned from the mind, they are created through the passion of the heart, the soul, and the imagination, all of which have some basis in reality. Life is ultimately not about what you know. It’s about what you don’t know, about what you are willing to learn, about what you are willing to dream…about what you’re willing to be.

Therein lies the fertile playground of the “what-ifs.”

And today is a perfect day to go out and play.

Filed Under: Creative Writing, Creativity, New Harmony, personal story, Retreat, Writers, Writing, Writing Retreat, Yoga Tagged With: art, conscious, creativity, distractions, expression, feelings, flow, follow your bliss, getting in yor own way, happiness, Joseph Campbell, Mediation, obstacles, our essence, painting, photography, Time, unconscious, who we are, writing, your passion, your true self

The Gift of Time and Space

April 4, 2014 By Dave Leave a Comment

Great Places to Write

Great Places to Write

There are two essential ingredients to creativity that cannot really be shared in a workshop, cannot be learned in a classroom or from a book, cannot be handed down from mentor to apprentice: the gift of TIME and SPACE.

Time is something we swim in every moment of our lives, yet it is the one thing above all that we never truly seem to have enough of, not for everyday tasks or extraordinary adventures, not for practical pursuits or chasing dreams. Not even for doing nothing at all.

One thing we learn as we spend it, though, is that not all time is created equal. For creatives, uninterrupted time is precious.

Learning to manage time, to shape it in such a way that we have a reasonable “chunk” to devote to our craft is something we can learn. But, ultimately, it is up to us to navigate our days and to determine how and when we can focus on creating. The reality is, some days that time might need to change. Being flexible is important.

But even more important is the act of giving ourselves permission to devote TIME to our calling!

Inside Roofless Church

Inside Roofless Church

Robert Coles writes, “We all need empty hours in our lives or we will have no time to create or dream.” Don’t mistake the word empty to mean worthless or wasted. It simply means time where we don’t have to think about a dozen things at once. Time where we don’t have to think at all.

Because it is in the silence, in the quiet of that empty time, when the magic happens.

In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, creativity expert Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes that “It might be true that it is ‘quality time’ that counts, but after a certain point quantity has a bearing on quality.” One of the best aspects of New Harmony is the slow down, get unplugged, pull back from the everyday routine of it all.

As Csikszentmihalyi states, it’s not just the quality of uninterrupted time, but the quantity.

According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow occurs when we are fully immersed in what we’re doing. As writers, it’s that time when we slip from the conscious self directing our thoughts to the unconscious revealing the story, the verse, the words.

Although we might be able to learn ways (or techniques) to help get into a creative flow, to engage our muse, it won’t matter if we don’t have the time to actually become fully immersed. Interruptions, which are part of daily life, can keep us from getting into that single-minded focus and flow.

That’s why it’s important to designate a set amount of time for your creativity and to let others know that time is sacred.

Like I said, some of the techniques for taking advantage of uninterrupted time can be learned, sure, but it still comes down to us shaping our day so we have that time. While you’re in New Harmony, determining what time you’ll spend on your art becomes an easier choice. In part because you’ve allowed yourself to step aside from most of your daily responsibilities. But there’s also something about the creative energy of the place, whether you are here for a guided retreat or merely on your own, that lends itself to becoming fully immersed in creating.

How Does It Feel to Be in Flow (from one of Csikszentmihalyi’s Ted Talk slides)?

  • Completely involved in what we are doing – focused, concentrated.
  • A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality.
  • Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
  • Knowing that the activity is doable – that skills are adequate to the task.
  • A sense of serenity – no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
  • Timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present . . .
  • Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

Most people who have spent time creating (whether it’s at the page writing, at the easel painting, at the piano playing) and who have slipped into FLOW understand how amazing it is. That’s the state we’re constantly seeking to get back to and the only way to do that is with some of that empty time to which Cole alludes.

As Robert Henri puts it – “The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”

But in order to make the most of that time, we also need space.

We need a spot where we can immerse ourselves for however much time we have, uninterrupted. I read an article recently that stated, our creative lives aren’t like DVD’s that can be paused every time there’s an interruption and then just started again seamlessly returning to the flow.

Fountain by Sandy Spencer Coomer

Fountain by Sandy Spencer Coomer

Think of FLOW as a literal thing, as a stream, that is fluid and moving, and each interruption is like a damn, like a fallen tree blocking the way. Yes, water is usually able to find a way around, eventually, but that often takes time.

And the direction the stream was flowing in often gets diverted, at least temporarily.

I live in a town where Mark Twain spent much of his adult life living and writing about Huck and Tom and Becky, and he had a special octagonal study built that stood away from his home, complete with fireplace and lighting and other comforts. He’s not alone when it comes to writers who have created their own separate writing space.

For a writer, being at the page is a sacred space. But so too is the actual tangible place where he or she writes. And the value of such a space shouldn’t be taken lightly. As Joseph Campbell put it, “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again.”

Tranquility of the Labyrinth Fountain

Tranquility of the Labyrinth Fountain

Finding or creating such a space in our daily lives is important.

Now, some writers find that space on the train commuting to and from work. They’re able to tune out the world and tune into themselves. Others have offices or nooks or, like Twain, separate studies devoted to their writing.

Places like New Harmony offer a variety of wonderful nooks and hideaways, parks and benches and other outdoor spots, nestled right in among the natural world with the soothing music of fountains and birdsong.

But there’s also a desk in your room. Where no one will find you. Where no one will ask you to do this or to do that. It’s a sacred space where you can fully immerse yourself for large chunks of time. You will find that New Harmony is a place of quiet, of calm, of serenity. And that is conducive for writing, for drawing, for creating.

“You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” – Kafka

Here are a few articles on the value of solitude for creatives:

  • The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People
  • The Value of Solitude
  • The Call of Solitude
  • Introvert Quotes on Creativity
  • What Great Artists Need: Solitude

Part of the benefit of taking a retreat is the gift of time and space. But it’s important to also find ways to create your own mini-retreats each time you want to create. In order to do that, you need TIME and SPACE.

Filed Under: Creative Writing, Creativity, Flow, New Harmony, Obstacles, Retreat, Uncategorized, Writers, Writing Tagged With: art, clarity, creativity, fous, Joseph Campbell, Kafka, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, retreat, Robert Coles, Robert Henri, sacred space, serenity, Space, Time, tranquility

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"Listen With Heart" by Len Matthews

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March 20, 2015 By Dave Leave a Comment

“The things which hurt, instruct.” - Benjamin Franklin As a boy, my one true love . . . was basketball. That’s right. Like Juliet to Romeo, basketball was the sun, only . . . okay, well, that may be stretching it a bit. But the idea of playing, the … [Read More...]

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