Moments To Create

What are your reasons for not creating something? This could be a work of art or an experience perhaps with friends or family. Maybe completing a project. There will always be times, even for the disciplined, when taking a moment for yourself seems out of the question. Energy flags and stress steps in to kick us out of our game. The suggestion that we could be doing something worthwhile at these moments is irritating to say the least. 

I am as susceptible as anyone to these moments. Yes the thought of paperwork when I could be painting may seem appalling. There are times when I prefer paperwork! Shocking, but I am willing to bet that everyone can think of a chore to keep them from doing something creative. Why? It is easier to do a chore when the creative project will test us. It is safer to do the mundane than put your neck out and do something risky. Oh sure we have to get certain chores done on time, but how many moments are sacrificed when they need not be? 

This battle is a daily one. Mostly it is easily won and we can  push on and do the work we are meant to do. But there is also potentially much time wasted on dithering and taking the easy way out. We can then kid ourselves that the filing had to be done today. It could not wait until I had finished the portrait or writing that last chapter. Even more insidious is when we use other people to help us procrastinate. "We just had to go to the shops to buy those socks for young James" or similar excuse. The fact that it took two hours of the day conveniently pushes the project to tomorrow.

It has made me look at ways to counter this tendency to let resistance creep in. One factor is time. How I dislike time! I mean that clock on the wall kind of time. I no longer wear a watch. The watch hands are like little fingers wagging at me and going "tut,tut... it is time you were doing something". Yes I cannot escape it entirely of course, but what if we accepted that we have this very moment - only. Forget about planning the day ahead minute by minute. Take the present moment and do the work. Finish what you are doing then move onto the next moment. Forget about multitasking. Soon enough a new rhythm develops and we fall into this cycle of getting the work completed with less stress.

Living in the moment.