Secret #4 of 12: Surrendering To Creative Cycles

"Fish on a Bicycle" by Darren Greenhow

We are onto chapter 4 of Gail McMeekin's "12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women" hosted by Jamie Ridler.

And today I've got my copy of the book at last!

A couple of days ago I found I could read parts of it on google book search, which has some way of monitoring how much one's read and limits it, but it seems to let one dip in wherever one likes.

But its much better to have a real physical copy in my hand at last.

This week is about surrendering to creative cycles...

And talk about creative cycles....

Our household is currently being turned upside down as Teasel, our not yet quite 6 month old puppy, has just come into season for the first time...

She is so frustrated that she is not being allowed to run free in the park... indeed yesterday she showed us that she is able to leap the puppy fence that we thought was keeping her safely constrained within our back garden...

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The keys in this chapter are:

1. Learning Patience
2. Surviving the Void
3. Navigating in the Darkness
4. Watching for Clues
5. Trusting in Creative Re-emergence

1. Patience

How can I tell the difference between patience and procrastination?

Is one person's patience another's procrastination?

I love to read cards of various sorts:

• Am I putting off doing something else when I do this?
  
  
• Am I just playing?
  
  
• Am I finding ways to let clues come through to me?

Photo: "Butterfly Inspiration" - a toy butterfly with the Inspiration card from the Enlightenment Pack by Chuck Spezzano

2. Surviving the Void

Each void that I've faced has been different and needed different coping strategies... the main thing I've learned is that what worked before may not work again.

If you don't like where you are, you need to do something different... 'cos more of whatever it is that you were doing, no matter how beneficial it was before, may be currently digging that hole deeper.

Letting go of everything is sometimes what's needed... and that's really scary!

Image: Collage and digital manipulation. Blogged in Novemeber 2006.

3. Navigating in the Darkness

I'm not sure that this is a useful concept for me.

It makes me think about things like destinations and maps...

But what if what's really needed, especially at times of darkness, is to realise there is only what is here and now...

When I'm in the dark it is a time when I feel that there is no meaning and no purpose... and the fact that at other times I feel differently doesn't really help me then.

Accepting where I am at such times is never easy but, so far, reaching that point of acceptance is what has then enabled me to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Photo: "Little Lost Butterfly" - a pram toy found on the pavement (sidewalk).

4.Watching for Clues

One of my favourite activities...

As I've mentioned before I love synchronicities.

I also look out for other sorts of signs.

Sometimes I ascribe meaning to them.

Other times I simply enjoy them.

Does God play dice?

Or is it simply that we cannot see the pattern?

Or feel the connections?

Photo: "Butterfly Brain" - graffiti of Einstein and a butterfly spotted in Bristol

5. Trusting in Creative Re-emergence

Does a caterpillar know it will become a butterfly?

Does it dream and yearn for wings?

Or does it just get on with being a caterpillar?









Photos: "Paper Doll - 1" & "Caterpillar dreaming of things to come"

I hadn't previously realised quite how many butterfly images I had on my flickr stream. And as there weren't quite enough I popped out to get a couple more before finishing this post ;-)

If you click on any one of the thumbnail below (or any of the other images in this post) it will take you to that photo on flickr: