On my afternoon walks through town, I'd often see my friend, the late sculptor Carl Dern, working. During the week the wide doors of his studio were almost always open, and as I passed I'd often hear the plunk of metal-on-metal or see bright bursts of light as he welded and worked with metal.
Carl was a professional who earned a living from his craft. Week after week, his elegant tree sculptures began to accrue into a small metal grove in the grass.
By all measures, Carl's "show up every day no matter what" approach was disciplined.
But Carl had a sense of ease and humor about him too.
(See him here, posing in a tutu?)
Carl told his stories with a wise twinkle in his eye. He'd make whimsical books with his wife, Marie. He named his dog, "Kitty." He practiced meditation every day.
Like Carl, I think it's important for us to show up regularly to do our writing, and to show up to the page as fully alive and truthful and "present" as we can be, our hearts and perceptive faculties alive and thrumming as we work.
But what we do away from our writing desk matters, too.
Cultivate a sense of playfulness in your life, and (sometimes, at least) your relaxed and happy state will accompany you to the page.
And a relaxed writer is often both productive and inspired.
photo credit: Tom Rider
This is so true. Many times we are immersed in deadlines and daily dramas, and things that can wreak havoc with our creativity and our inner-child. I am definitely trying to find a good balance between being a "go-getter" and getting more pleasure out of down-time and peaceful pursuits. Thanks for this important message.
Posted by: Jennifer Brown Banks | April 03, 2010 at 03:40 PM