I wrote something last week about New Year’s Eve and the false attachments we have to it, “Beyond the Constructs, We Live in Deeds, Breaths & Heartthrobs.”
The essence of that might be the magical and mundane fact that new beginnings surround us. It is not tied to the Gregorian calendar that carries us in transition from December 31 to January 1, man-made constructs, and *poof* we are in time anew and abundant.
New dawns are constant. They are daily. They are with every season, every hour, every breath. It’s all a matter of perspective and awareness, attitude and gratitude. Hokey, if you say so. True either way.
This is a life and creative practice I’m sitting with and acting through right now, hopeful that I can cultivate the habits I need to keep the fire lit, keep the creative energy moving forward.
Every wake-up offers new opportunities to create. I used to write and hold onto it for another day, rather than share it, because I was afraid. “What if I don’t come up with more or have (make) the time for new/more? I need a safety net.”
I was rationing. That was a mindset of scarcity. And I suspect I was attempting some sort of appearance of consistency, rather than trusting I could create consistently. Toward the end of last year, I recognized the pattern and chose to do something about it.
Now, I go to my desk each morning (and again on many late afternoons), sit down and ask myself, “Now what? What will I write today?”
I used to place obstacles and make excuses to keep from sitting at my desk and facing a blank page. “I need hours, the whole morning open, to give me the space to come up with something to write about and really make it count. But … I can’t today. I don’t have a chunk of hours.” (This was part of the Resistance, a la Steven Pressfield, or Part X, a la Phil Stutz.)
I’d fritter away the 30 or 60 minutes I did have, because it wasn’t spacious enough. Oh, well. I guess I’ll just fold laundry or do dishes or get groceries or listen to a podcast instead. Maybe I’ll write an amazing piece tomorrow, or next week. Maybe.
It’s amazing what happens when we get out of our own way. Like I said, I go to my desk now with expectation, and a belief developed through action, that I can and will create something I want to publish on the blog and/or record for podcast release.
I’m functioning with a bias toward action and completion, and belief that I have abundant creativity and ideas and capabilities to make great things happen. So …
Now, rather than hold onto what I write, I publish what I complete each day, be it one piece for the blog or two or three. In that, I’m pushing myself to the edge of the unknown for tomorrow. I am trusting that this consistent flow further opens the doors of possibility.
It clears the path for whatever tomorrow holds, and offers faith it does hold new and more, and that I’ll be capable of meeting it. It builds a ripple effect that gains energy and swells, making ideas easier to come by and the creating easier to do.
I think: What energy will I find tomorrow that builds upon today? What positive habits will I form if I keep leaning forward into my work? What fires will I stoke that lead me to ideas, opportunities and connections I otherwise would not have?
It’s a cycle. Not unlike that of the earth’s rotation and orbit. Natural and timeless.
Photo by Cliff Johnson
