Creativity blocks come disguised in many forms. Difficult emotions can be powerful creativity blocks. I awakened this morning feeling angry about a situation that occurred yesterday in which my limits were not respected. As the day began, the anger became a distraction, and the prospect of generating any creative energy today seemed bleak.
A writer or artist’s natural tendency, when we’re not feeling creative, is to either push forward and attempt to force something to happen in our work or to avoid creating and become disheartened that we’ve let yet another day pass without creating anything worthwhile. But trying to force ourselves out of creativity blocks to just create something can sometimes be similar to trying to force ourselves to go to sleep—it backfires, and the result is that what we seek becomes even more unattainable.
Today I didn’t attempt to force my way through the creativity block of a difficult emotion, and I didn’t give up. I simply remained present with my anger during my meditation session. I accepted that today I feel angry. I focused my awareness on where I experienced the anger in my body—the throat, chest, and abdomen—and I just let it be. After an hour of meditation, I felt less angry, but I was still tired from the lack of sleep, and every time I thought about that, I felt angry again. So I turned toward the anger, took it by the hand, and went on an outing to the beach.
I arrived at the beach just after the last storm, and right before the next incoming storm. In those conditions, I had the entire beach to myself. I walked for several miles. The latest storm had tossed up more than the typical array of shells onto the beach. I spotted what appeared to be a rock in the edge of the surf and almost passed it by, but something told me to investigate it further. I dodged most of the incoming surf and was able to dig it out of the sand, only to discover that it was a very large Lightening Whelk, one of the largest I’ve found to date. Of course, I was ecstatic!
As I walked on the beach and focused my attention on the beauty of that shell and all of the beauty that surrounded me, the anger subsided.
I brought the shell home and placed it among my other favorite finds. It’s been my anchor and inspiration for the day. When I arrived back at the office, I was able to move easily into my creative projects for the day. The Lightening Whelk on my shelf serves as a good reminder to turn toward whatever arises with kindness and curiosity.
Take a few moments to check in with yourself right now. What in you needs your attention? How can you be present with it? Experiment and see if being present with what needs your attention inspires some creative energy.
This post was originally published on 12-1-12 and has been revised.