Intelligent Body

I woke up early this morning and before I checked my phone, I thought maybe I should practice sketching. So I did. I had forgotten what it felt like to simply be, one-on-one with a sketchbook and pen. There is a relationship there. It’s subtle, but there’s history. Good things, bad things, and moments of inspiration. But for today, this was just practice. 

There was a point in my life when something clicked inside me, all at once, I was able to illustrate with clarity what was in my mind’s eye. This seems easy if you are an “Artist”, however, it’s not. At least not for me, and for certain, not all of the time. The only success I seemed to have was when I gave up control of my hand and let stuff pure out. This is good of course and some magical fluid things happen with this type of work. However, in the practical sense, not so much. 

I remember that day; it was several years ago. I just kept drawing things, anything and was feverish about as if it would go away. And it did. I never understood why this would come and go. There is skill in my hand, but I couldn’t trust it to be there for me when I needed it. And as I look back, I can see that maybe my hands needed to have faith in me. 

The relationship we have with our body, and mind is real. Our bodies need to feel safe, it is a fundamental need that the body responds to.  And mine was under a great amount of prolonged stress and hyper-awareness. I wasn’t giving it what it needed to feel safe. 

From the perspective of creating, it’s really important to understand that your body is a part of the creative process. It isn’t just the flesh that you walk around in. It is the maker of potential. The body is intelligent and will respond to beliefs, environment, and practice.

For me, the act of building a relationship of trust and safety in my body has been vital for the connection of creative thought and producing.

When I picked up my sketchbook today, a new practice happen, a new relationship was started. My mind’s eye and my hand met in the middle. Not perfectly, but on the same page.