The Artist's Way? Not Today
Wednesday, May 9, 2007 The universe has a way of calling us out.
About a month ago, I pulled out my copy of The Artist's Way. I purchased the book a few years ago, never got past the first chapter and felt that it was time to give it another try. I read through the 1st chapter and right on to the second. If you have ever read this book, you will know that a very huge part of the "program" is morning pages. Morning pages are "three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness . . .brain drain." I bought a notebook to use for my morning pages and did them for the first week, went into the second week and then, there it was again - the wall. I just did not make it past this point. I went a little further than last time, but not quite to chapter 3.
Why? Simply a matter of practicality. I am up between 4:30 and 4:45 each morning as it is and getting up another 20 minutes earlier just was not feasible for me. On the few days that I made it to the gym, it was all I could do to stay upright on the treadmill. I decided last night that it was time to put this away until my life could support it better, until I felt I was willing to make the time/changes necessary to get it done.
Now, imagine my surprise when I open my Google Reader and see this post from Deb about creativity - the very focus of The Artist's Way and this by the Brazen Careerist about the value of writing by hand to gain focus. Ah, morning pages.
Am I being called out? Well, the two posts did give me pause but I am clear that I really am not willing to fit this particular approach to creativity into my life right now. There are other things I am doing to bring out my creativity - working with my daughter's new Aqua Dots is one, this blog is another.
The Artist's Way? No, not today, but definitely some day.
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Reader Comments (4)
i get up at 4:30 in the morning. and i'm not getting up before 4:30 in the morning for morning pages or working out or anything else for that matter.
i'm sure i'll do them again someday. just not now.
and for what it's worth, i've never made it past chapter 7.
;-)
all the best!
deb
I'm a huge fan of the Artist's Way, and recently facilitated a "Creative Cluster" all the way through to week 12.
Two suggestions:
1 - There are two key things in The Artist's Way: one is the morning pages, the other the Artist's Date (also known as a "Time Out" if you are following "The Artist's Way at Work"). Even if you can't do the pages every morning, scheduling a weekly "Artist's Date" may bring you benefits. We all need time to play and to reflect (especially if getting up at 4.30am!) I've also found that the pages themselves are a great tool at any time you need to do a "brain dump" even if you can't do them regularly.
2 - When you are ready to follow the whole programme, nothing beats joining a Creative Cluster. The weekly meeting is a great way of supporting each other, even if you haven't been perfect and done the pages or exercises that week. For me, it made the difference between stopping at week 3 or 7 or 8 or 10, and going the distance.
Cheers
Rachel