“Energy follows attention.”
I credit these words to a friend. She didn’t give a reference. I think it may be a martial arts term. She was introducing them into a discussion we were having of an ongoing personal problem of mine. They did not seem particularly potent when she spoke them. She asked me to bring them to bear on my weighty situation over the next week. She told me that the more I allowed myself to focus on my dilemma the more energy I was giving it. By the time of this discussion my difficulty had already morphed into a decidedly energetic beast. She suggested that I practice being aware of my attention and gently remove it from the problem and consciously place it in a more positive place. Simple idea.
But wrenching my attention away from this now alluring leviathan was accomplished in forced and painful increments over the next few days. Surprisingly, the practice strengthened upon each small turning until I sensed that the Beast was in fact being divested of power. This is a great lesson worthy of creative application to life issues as they unceasingly present themselves. With that said….
“After making the decision that my art, whatever form it takes…writing, drawing, speaking, painting….is worthy of my time, discovering how to insert that creative space of time into my day looms large.” This is the beginning of a previous post that I am seeking now to continue.
“It seems that the energy of these (creative) people is internally generated and is due more to their focused minds than to the superiority of their genes.”…..Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Creativity
I hold to the idea that creating is supremely necessary to being human and not an elitist or selfish endeavor. It is imperative. Because of this, I can unquestionly make space for creating to happen. I will begin to view the obstacles to creative space in very much the same way I deal with the “Beast” of my personal dilemma. I turn my attention to making space. I attend to its possibility. I turn attention away from the critic and the pressure for anal tidiness. My attention is on the possibilities and those possibilities are energized.
I just lost my post :-( How discouraging.
ReplyDeleteI will try again, now that I know how to make this work. I think making time for creative pursuits on a regular basis is so important. I get so consumed by the functional and necessary and end up using my best energy too many times in those areas, important as they may be. I need to say NO to them at times so as to say YES to creative pursuits more. (This post wasn't nearly as well written as the one I lost but the idea kernel is still here.)
ReplyDeleteIt is a great post, Valerie..I appreciate your response..The small messes and piles of papers are somehow alluring..It's insane.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an important life lesson which I constantly need reminding of. Reminds me a little of the booklet Tyranny of the Urgent. Remember that?
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you how much your quote offering has been a part of my life this past few months..It has kept me from my own undoing...it has found application in other arenas as well. Yes, I have enjoyed Tyranny of the Urgent....I must be gaining from it since my house is a total mess, but I am painting and writing.
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