Fickley Feels

When I pulled up this blank page, I realized I didn’t feel like I had anything important to say. That’s what writing is, right; putting down on paper what needs to be said? For this effort, I’ll start with - not necessarily. 

I’ve been reading a book, well listening to a book called “The Practice”, by Seth Godin. My daily commute is about an hour each way, so it’s a good moment to listen. This book is full of practical strait-forward advice and is really encouraging for a committed creator. The truth is, although I feel like I have a lot to share, demanding that out of myself might not be the best tactic. 

“The Practice”, is what it's about. The author goes into great detail about how searching for inspiration and muse is the down-fall of a passionate creator. At some point, your creations need to be your work, and if it’s your work, you get up every day and just make it happen. Demanding that, that work be “inspired” is what Godin calls is a “trap”. 

It’s been months since I’ve felt inspired to draw. The desire is there, the love is there, but the practice is not. I don’t know if you’ve ever picked up an old journal or sketchbook and thumbed through the pages, I have quite a few; I noticed that many pages are filled with scribbles or unfinished sentences, parts of poems, warm up sketches, ect. The point is, in between the random practices are some legit works of inspiration and skill. And the second point is, I had to fill a lot of those books to achieve it. The third point is, even some of the warm ups and unfinished writing is OK.

So, let’s not give up on ourselves so quickly; if we have nothing to say, or write or make. Let’s go to work anyways and do the tasks that open the door for inspiration to trickle in when it so fickly feels.