Getting Going when You don’t know Where You are Going

Soooooo, the last few months have been challenging to gain creative momentum, for many reasons. I’ve had lots of starts and stops and attempts to get into the practice. But I suppose I just haven’t been feeling it. And I know that we can’t wait to FEEL inspired to actually begin the thing we are making. It is through, the actual sitting down that things happen, energy shifts, those wonder wheels gain some juice to turn and propel you forward even a tiny increment. Show up regardless, yes I know. Sometimes it is also about working on something small and do-able to gain fresh momentum. There is a sweet spot between being open and also having a direction. For me the direction this morning without really naming it before beginning was to find a way to …RECONNECT with the FEELING. which for me occurs in that moment when I’m playing with materials and making something and I’m not quite sure what I am doing. I’m going and I kind of know the terrain but not really, for it is created by my moving towards it.

The Feeling, the one I’m attempting to name and locate so I can find again, is one of deep focus. It also houses play. It connects to being immersed in the process, pleasure in the sensory delights of the materials. This morning I heard myself say, just make a collage, just go. Grabbed a magazine and cut the cover into shapes. Using scissors and glue sticks almost always grounds my energy. And quickly. Within minutes there was a little lift of excitement and pleasure as a little bird emerged. Then I felt the desire to make this post. Going without knowing exactly where you are going in terms of the creative process is a practice. Still ever always working to refine THE FEELING, this one, that is circling around me now, while I write to share what it is that happens when you sit down to make something.