Exercising our Creativity

w/pics from the green kitchen

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Today in Brave Space one writer talked about how much fun they had doing an exercise. They articulated the dream that they could bring that sense of joy and discovery into their regular project. Does this happen to you?

Once the Honeymoon Phase ends (I was pregnant on my honeymoon), the project hits the lack of sleep stage with infants and toddlers and mashed peas stuck to the walls. (When this happened to me IRL, I just painted my kitchen bright green. I mean, why scrub?)

You want to avoid the Toddler Phase - all that clean-up while a cute kid covered in spaghetti sauce screams NO! This doesn’t have to mean revising either, it could happen while you’re creating rising action in the second act.

I am fully committed to the easiest path. Especially when it comes to creativity and my creative output. So if it’s easier to do it with joy and the excitement of surprises, that’s how I do it - that’s how I advise others to do it. Creativity gets less creative when it’s a slog.

So how can we remain in our Honeymoon Phase (pregnant with our project)? How can we keep our creations-in-progress fresh and juicy? Bring in that sense of “it’s just an exercise!” Lower the stakes! Make room for the fun of it. Remember date night? Clean sheets, candles, don’t forget the lube. Yes, even if you’re revising, especially if you’re revising, could you possibly be re-imagining? Could you trick your mind into thinking that anything can happen?

Patti Smith writes, "I don't consider writing a quiet, closet act. / I consider it a real physical act. / When I'm home writing on the typewriter, I go crazy. / I move like a monkey. / I've wet myself, I've come in my pants writing."

First thing - safety - says, if you have a draft, save a copy. Whether you’re revising or generating, save what you have so far. Once you’ve saved what you have and you’re working on a copy, you can cultivate a sense of play, flirt with all the possibilities.

Why is safety first? Because you want to create a safe space for yourself to do the creating you dream of doing, to let yourself feel free.

If I had to generate and then execute my ideas, I’d never get anything done! If I have an idea as to what should happen, that usually feels too proscribed for me. I like to write to find out what happens. Ideas feel limiting and small to me. I need to access a larger mind than the kiddie pool where my piddly ideas come from. For me, this means deep space and warp speed. I need to go beyond all the censors to the FUN ZONE. Maybe my idea of fun is different than yours, but I like to write as if I’m bleeding out, but instead of blood, I bleed words.

It helps me to tell myself, “this is just an exercise.” This word “exercise” is boring to judges. Critics find exercise beyond dumb. They’ll come back when the important work is happening. So you get a free pass to play! And if you’re way off base, you have a saved draft. You saved a draft, right?

Reality check: it’s ALL EXERCISE! Or, if that word is starting to make you think of dumbbells and sweat, it’s all exploration and discovery! Let it all be the good part! The gooey center of the chocolate ganache! The cream in the cannoli!

Why not? The people who told you it was hard probably weren’t doing it themselves. And didn’t want you to start. Or they reminded you about the rules.

Maybe you identify as a rule keeper. That’s fine, but do that after the party, after the spillage, after the fun! Nothing ever gets broken, busted, ruined or stained while I’m writing, no matter how much fun I’m having. (But I’m not Patti Smith.)

You know how delicious it is to be able to carve out an hour to create something, even if that something is part of a long-term project that’s going to take years of your life. It’s yours. You should be able to do whatever you like and have fun doing it.

That’s what Brave Space offers. The scheduled time to shift into the fun part. Come!

Schedule for Brave Space this week 10/23-27: Monday 12pm ET and for All Humans Monday at 7pm ET; Tuesday 10am ET; Wednesday 3pm ET; Thursday and Friday 12pm ET.

Wholeness Tip: Apparently I’ve been doing my gratitude practice all wrong. It’s best practiced by receiving it! So I’m thanking you for reading all these words. I want you to know that I am grateful for you, especially the writer today who had so much fun with the exercise. And to everyone in or out of Brave Space dreaming of peace. You matter. (Take this in - it’s as good for you as HIIT!) Here’s the link to Andrew Huberman's podcast on how a gratitude practice can work for you. I’ll be inventing hacks for this soon!