The Simple Act Of Living Your Life

I’ve heard it said about writers, that we like control and I could see why. Writers create entire worlds, beings, and lives with the purpose of controlling those worlds, beings, and lives for entertainment. My own writing journey started as a result of my life spiraling out of my control which as far as coping mechanisms go, writing isn’t a bad way to go, but the fact remains that I do like to be in control. At the very least in control of my own self and my own life. I suspect that the desire to be masters of our own fate is true for a lot of us, whether we are writers or not, and that desire for control can sometimes mean that we want to force our will to maintain that control. I’m learning, in many aspects of life, that force isn’t always the answer. Sometimes it’s better to nurture, and let the course of life flow the way it will. That lesson was very evident to me over the course of this past week. Most writers will tell you they’ve experienced writer’s block. I don’t think creative block is unique to writers, and I don’t think the desire for control is unique to writers either. Creatives thrive on creating (obviously) and I think a major, I don’t want to say flaw but that’s the only word coming to mind right now so I’m going to use it, flaw is that we try and force creativity even when our muse is asking us to let her marinate on an idea for a moment. One of my favorite ways to let my muse marinate is to go for walks in nature. Due to my life at the moment, those mental health walks aren’t always possible, so I’ve done other things, up to and including trying to force creativity, and stressing about the lack of creative ideas, to the point of obsession. As you can imagine, this wasn’t the best way to go about enticing creative flow, and it had the opposite effect. So like I said earlier, forcing our will usually isn’t the best course of action for getting what we want out of life but what is? For me, what worked was being out in nature. Doing something that I loved. It felt like breathing again. Being fully immersed in the moment and living life without thought of what I was going to put down on the page next time I sat down allowed my muse to relax and marinate without so much pressure. Then when I did finally get to the page, I wasn’t stressed and the words did indeed flow. Getting out, living life, and enjoying the small moments opened up a door into creativity. It allowed relaxation, joy, and love to come into my next writing session which kept judgment at the door. That judgment is the killer honestly. If all we’re focusing on is judging what’s coming out vs doing whatever we’re doing in the servace of love, how are we not going to be paralyzed by it? That is going to be my goal in the coming weeks. To focus on living in the moment instead of trying to force my will over my muse and my creativity. Letting life happen as it happens instead of stressing over where, when, and how it’s going to happen. Giving up control can be terrifying, or exhilarating, but I think in the end it’s worth it.