Accomplishments and creative pinch points
Since I launched this blog on daily practice at the end of August, I collected images, ideas, inspirations and experiences to share. I haven’t written about them except for some cursory notes on my Facebook page and my Instagram journal page. These notes are something, miniscule as they may seem. And even the “collecting” I didn’t or haven’t yet made public is also something as are the images I captured, the films I watched, the journal pages I wrote, the walks I took, the air I breathed….
My therapist reminded me this week that even though things feel chaotic and aren’t happening on the timeline I imagined, I still accomplished a lot. I accept this reminder.
I made some art. Consider this image of Magnificent, aka Mag. Happy Halloween! Digital art counts! Why the heck wouldn’t it?
I’ve been working on a book proposal for my memoir manuscript. I started it around September 10th and hoped to complete it before Mercury went retrograde at the end of September.
In astrology, Mercury is a fast-moving energy that influences communication, daily habits and activities, and short-distance travel. When it goes retrograde, which happens three to four times each year, it appears (from Earth) to move backwards in its orbit. Mercury retrograde periods are often associated with glitchy communications or things that get overlooked, and the result is that more time is needed to disentangle the knots created during these retrograde mishaps. As an example, you might send a text to the wrong person, find an important email in your drafts folder or queued in your outbox, or send a message with a typo that alters your intended meaning or tone.
I didn’t finish the proposal before Mercury went retrograde. After I got over my frustration about that, I recognized the three-week gift of the retrograde period. I revised, rethought and re-strategized. Mercury retrograde ended on October 18th, and, darn it, I didn’t finish the proposal.
An advertisement for the Modern Love podcast made an excellent base for a pandemic love card.
The proposal is necessary for my manuscript to become a book. The proposal is an I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing and I’ve-never-done-this-before slog. It’s consumptive. I shrank my ambitions for my other writing and creative work to accommodate the proposal, and I’ve been eating chocolate.
I find the hardest part of any creative activity is starting or getting going. I use chocolate as an incentive to write. I often place it next to my keyboard with my tea so I’m in position. If I look at my computer screen long enough with my hands in the vicinity of the keyboard, eventually I’ll start pressing the keys and words will appear. If I’m sweeping the floor, doing the dishes, out on a walk, or taking a nap, I can’t type. I don’t like that I’ve been eating as much chocolate as I have, but I notice and acknowledge the proposal stretches me, and I’m sticking with the work of it despite the discomfort.
I enjoyed matching water from a random magazine page to the sky and water in this kayak image. A little black masking tape did the trick to continue the landscape forms to the postcard edges.
November is nearly here, my proposal isn’t done, and the astrological energy looks gnarly for most of the month. Knowing that, I’ve been working on how to orient to the next several weeks. Here’s what I came up with:
November won’t be a great month to begin new endeavors, although if you must start something new, the last week is better. The energy is favorable to buckle down and work on on-going activities and may even be a good time to complete a part of what you currently have underway. Just be prepared for difficulty. November is a kind of pinch point. It will likely narrow your options of activity to those things that you must address. Remember, this energy is a gift that propels you on your journey.
I might be rationalizing another three-ish weeks to finish my proposal, but it also sounds realistic. I really want to get the bugger done so I can get on with what’s next.
I often work at the kitchen table with this violet. I love the slow blossoming and enjoy the long-lasting flowers on indoor plants.
Here are some offerings I use to help me through a challenging project or creative block:
Get adequate sleep. But don’t oversleep.
Journal. Use pen or pencil on paper. Write about what is cluttering your mind or heart until you fill a page or feel written out.
Go for a walk. Around the block may be enough. Find something beautiful.
Allow yourself some quiet. Maybe it’s in the shower or bath. Or during a walk or run. Or while you’re preparing food. Or driving somewhere. Turn off the music, news, podcast, or whatever you might normally be listening to and give yourself some white space.
Breathe. Take a few minutes at least once per day to pay attention to this thing your body does all the time. Initiate inhales and exhales with your belly. Extend your exhale so it’s twice as long as your inhale.
