I don’t write every day. I never have. I don’t work with clay everyday either. Nor sketch, bake, journal, garden, or any other of my creative practices. And yet, I am absolutely convinced that creativity is a practice more than an innate gift, a doing rather than a being. These two ideas appear contradictory at first: how can I insist that creativity is
"And even in less dramatic circumstances than post-surgery, there are days when I will prioritise attending a friend’s father’s funeral over hitting my word count for the day. Or when I will choose a walk in beautiful weather over a day in front of screens. Or when I’d rather curl up and read than write. Or when I will forfeit my morning journaling in favour of 20 minutes of throwing a ball around for my kitten to chase. And none of those makes me less of a writer.'' -
All this is still productive and enriching and necessary things. I some times end up just in my bed scrolling. And feel guilty of not doing anything to achieve my goals or nurture my hobbies. However this nudges me to think what is better than mindlessly scrolling? - taking a nap? watching critically acclaimed series/movies instead of scrolling mindlessly? Is going window shopping still better than scrolling? None of these alternatives are enriching or necessary. But still thinking on it :)
Yes, of course, I also spend time mindlessly scrolling... or watching a new show on Netflix or window shopping. Each of us will always be searching for the balance between different pulls in our lives, and that balance will look different on different days. But I do think there's an argument for not ONLY doing things that are enriching or necessary. We aren't endless self-improvement projects, and if on some days we just need to shut our brains off for a couple of hours, so be it. I want to lead an enriching life, sure, but every minute doesn't have to be purposeful-- sometimes, it can also only be fun :)
What beautiful articulation of contradictions
"And even in less dramatic circumstances than post-surgery, there are days when I will prioritise attending a friend’s father’s funeral over hitting my word count for the day. Or when I will choose a walk in beautiful weather over a day in front of screens. Or when I’d rather curl up and read than write. Or when I will forfeit my morning journaling in favour of 20 minutes of throwing a ball around for my kitten to chase. And none of those makes me less of a writer.'' -
All this is still productive and enriching and necessary things. I some times end up just in my bed scrolling. And feel guilty of not doing anything to achieve my goals or nurture my hobbies. However this nudges me to think what is better than mindlessly scrolling? - taking a nap? watching critically acclaimed series/movies instead of scrolling mindlessly? Is going window shopping still better than scrolling? None of these alternatives are enriching or necessary. But still thinking on it :)
Yes, of course, I also spend time mindlessly scrolling... or watching a new show on Netflix or window shopping. Each of us will always be searching for the balance between different pulls in our lives, and that balance will look different on different days. But I do think there's an argument for not ONLY doing things that are enriching or necessary. We aren't endless self-improvement projects, and if on some days we just need to shut our brains off for a couple of hours, so be it. I want to lead an enriching life, sure, but every minute doesn't have to be purposeful-- sometimes, it can also only be fun :)
This is so encouraging: thank you.
I'm glad to hear that! Thank you for reading and commenting :)