The first version of this post consisted of a simple email to my followers with the primary intention to inform them of my break from substack until September, and a secondary intention to include a brief reflection on what I have learned about writing/the creative process over the past few months. However, as these reflections unpacked themselves I realized there was much more to them than I had initially thought. Since everyone in the substack community is involved in this dance with Creativity in their own way, I figured I would let these reflections expand into a post for the wider substack community.
First, I do want to mention that, as the subtitle states, I will be taking a break from posting here for a good two and a half months; until September. The practical reason for this is because I will be traveling in Nepal and then sitting a month long meditation retreat and will simply not have the time to compose posts. However, one thing I have learned in the past few months is that, at least for me, the creative process does not go very well if it is compartmentalized. So even though the explicit intention behind this trip and this retreat is not to delve into the well of Creativity with the hopes of writing better in the future, I am quite confident the trip will continue to fine tune an alignment within me that allows me to listen more deeply to the call of inspiration. Let me try to explain.
Tying myself to the mast by committing myself to posting once a week has taught me something I couldn’t have learned if I only wrote when I felt inspired; the elusiveness of a step by step plan for connecting with Creativity. Although one might think, and I have thought in the past, that a few quiet days of introspection and having some “me” time would result in an out flowing of Creative expression when I get back to work, this has not been a reliable rule. Sometimes I sit down to write feeling refreshed, balanced and clear after a day spent hiking, in solitude, or with a close friend, and immediately start oscillating between trying so hard that everything comes out forced, or relaxing to the point where the thought of engaging the creative muscle is just exhausting. Other times, I sit down to write after a stressful, busy week and the words just flow from a place that feels so truthful that there is no space to question the authenticity of what is being expressed. For example, I wrote my first poem that I think might be somewhat decent after an exhausting few days of travel and socializing. In fact, it was the moment I lay down on my bed with the intention to just close my eyes, do nothing, and recharge, that the beginnings of the poem came to me.
So in summary, I have learned that Creativity doesn’t follow rules. Or if you want to personify it, it doesn’t like rules. It thrives in mystery and It seems to have a distaste for the human mind’s seemingly never ending attempts to control and predict. However, I have not only learned what doesn’t work from the ups and downs of my relationship with Creativity. I have also learned that if I integrate the qualities that I embody when writing is going well, like fluidity, openness to uncertainty, and a firm intention to go wherever beauty and truth lead me, into all areas of my life, I can be confident that the Muses will continue to grace me with their inspiration, even if the timing of that inspiration is unpredictable. When I am truly writing from a connection to Creativity (and to be honest, sometimes the connection is more there and sometimes less) my engagement with these qualities manifests in a way that crystalizes them into an external expression that both expresses timeless truths and has a personal touch.
I have found these same qualities are also what lead to a satisfying and fulfilling engagement within other areas of my life even though I engage with them in significantly different ways in these other contexts. For example, when I am writing and my intention is to express my own grasp on the truth in as clear a way as possible. However, when I teach (I teach philosophy at a university) the “truth” of the content I am teaching must take into account the interests and capacities of the students. When I delve deep into meditation the paradigm shifts even more radically, as I aspire to relate to any conceptual expression of truth as a futile attempt to grasp the ungraspable. So in this context it is actually an orientation away from conceptual expression that allows me to sink deeper into an immediate intimacy with truth. These are just two examples. I aspire to bring these qualities into all areas of my life at least in some small way; even mundane ones like cooking, cleaning, and commuting to work. In general, I have found that if devote myself to embodying these qualities in the ways they manifest in these different contexts, I can have faith that the vitality of Creativity will always return, even if it is not on my terms.
As is usually the case with any worthwhile philosophical idea, I am not the first to discuss Creativity as a lifestyle. The great Indian philosopher and sage Jiddu Krishnamurti writes,
“To me, the true artist is one who lives completely, harmoniously, who does not divide his art from living, whose very life is that expression, whether it be a picture, music, or his behavior; who has not divorced his expression on a canvas or in music or in stone from his daily conduct, daily living.”
So although I am not taking this break with the intention to become a better writer I am taking this break to deepen my connection with that mysterious but also familiar place from which truth, beauty and goodness flow. As for those would like to continue to engage with recontextualize for the next few months, this would a great time to look back through the archives and read posts carefully that you may have missed or skimmed. (I will also schedule some of my posts that I do think are worth multiple readings to re-post every few weeks to encourage these re -reads and give you something to chew on until I am back. Free subscribers will get one every three weeks, and paid subscribers will get two every three weeks). I aspire to put a lot of nuance into these posts and I do think reading them carefully can be enriching for those interested in the topics. I look forward to writing again in September. Hope you all have a good summer!
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Please feel free to leave a comment if you have clarification questions, feedback, critiques, or anything to add. Philosophy is all about dialogue! I will do my best to respond to all questions and concerns.