For the past couple of years – OK, decades – I’ve been driven by a desire to show up in the world in a different way. My shift from coach back to creative was well under way long before I became consciously aware of it in late 2019. It took 2020 to create the space.
It’s taken time and commitment to develop a daily practice of creativity. I’ve oscillated between photography, speaking, and writing. They’ve been my favorite pass-times since I discovered them as a child. The clues have been there all along; at different times in my adult life I’ve invested heavily in refining their skills.
When I make photos, I explore the physical world around me, looking for breathtaking vistas and carving abstracts from what I see through my lens. Because I’d not made space in my daily life, most of my photography has been tied to travel. I’ve been exploring my hard drives of late. They are filled with thousands of images since the inception of digital cameras circa 2004, and hundreds of slides scanned slides.
When I speak, I create coaching conversations and podcast episodes. I am continually refining the type of client I extend my coaching skills to and the scope has narrowed. The guests, ideas and values I reflect, project and broadcast on my podcast has become similarly refined. I don’t care how famous or successful they are. I care that they have a heart and a story, and are willing to share them. I take pleasure in knowing the platform I’ve created is mine. I get the final say.
Writing is by far the most arduous of my creative choices. When I write I spell out ideas, reflections and messages that come to me, and stories suited for a memoir and a first person blog. The sheer effort to sit and be still long enough to spill something – anything – on to the page is bleaeaaarrrrghhhhhh. (Enough said about that.)
Each creation needs space to exist. When my calendar is jam-packed with appointments and tasks, I move from one to the next without the time, energy or focus it takes to bring them through me into existence.
Little did I know how much – and how little – space was going to be disrupted by COVID 19. With every single extra thing removed from my calendar, physical time space opened up like never before. Part of that space was taken by adapting to every single essential thing consuming more time, needing more consideration, and absurdly, creating the habit to remember the bleeping mask.
A considerable chunk of the time space was consumed by the relentless onslaught of change, (mis)information, and chaos, details of which belong in the space of a separate piece of writing.
It’s taken nine months to find something that resembles a sustainable pace.
Setting and allowing space is a powerful prerequisite for anything new to emerge. It means being more committed to conscious rhythm than mindless rote or routine.
The space needs to be structured enough that the thing actually happens, and fluid enough that when you have to drive your husband to work in the morning because you need the car for an actual real life in person appointment, the thing still happens.
If it’s important enough to the creator, all that matters is the space happens often enough – and consistently enough – for it to come into being.
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Have a great day! I’ve got more on this, but in case you hadn’t guessed, I’m off to get ready and get to my non-virtual appointment. 😉
