Creativity

I’m beginning to understand that in order to be creative, I actually have to sit down and show up.

Steven Pressfield, the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance and the War of Art, gave me a picture of what might be possible for me. For many reasons, I am not a morning person. I love mornings, but my constitution is such that I’m slow to get moving. I have finally come to a place of peace over this, accepting myself, allowing myself the quiet mornings I apparently need.

Steven Pressfield described his process in the book, the War of Art, and it was eye opening to me. He sits down to write at 10:30 and writes for 4 hours. My rigid picture of what a writer is includes the Ernest Hemingway (and countless others’) routine of getting up at 5 a.m. to put pen to paper, or in my case, hands to keyboard. This idea of having coffee, making phone calls, before sitting down to write? Revolutionary.

This morning, I made the attempt. I woke up slowly, did my morning meditation, had a cup of coffee, texted my morning people. And then … I sat down, and began to write.

I believe more than ever that we all have our own rhythm: circadian, energy, sleep and waking. Finally, I am honoring my own. It’s still a discovery time for me. There’s a delightful trying out of how this can work for me. Can I really be like Steven Pressfield, and sit down most days to write after my meditation, and morning coffee?

Apparently, the answer is yes. Yes, I can start writing after my morning routine. The magic is that I have to show up. In a way, I can relate writing to meditation. When I meditate, I’m in the flow where things bubble up. When I write, it’s very possible for me to fall into the flow. Instead of harshly telling myself I have to produce something spectacular, it’s possible for me to simply open the channel so what is supposed to bubble up has the space to do so. Sometimes it’s a simple downloading from the place beyond what I know, the place of mystery where all my good exists. Sometimes I just sit and ponder. Writing down what I’m thinking often leads to profound insights. Other times though, it’s drivel. And that’s ok because like meditation, it’s the practice, not the form it takes. It’s simply showing up.