“The world belongs to the energetic.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s easy to blame our failure to meet our goals or to live our dream lives on a lack of energy, and we don’t always stop to think about the quality of energy in our lives. Yet we can choose to create and manage our own energy flow.
Think of an instance when you’ve been so involved in an activity that you’ve lost track of time, and then identity the passions and energies you were feeding. Who was there with you? What were you doing? What will you do to make time for moments like that one more often?
(Author: Julia E)
This is a great prompt because I feel this way all the time! Our energy levels often dictate how much we can accomplish in any day, week, month, or season. Sometimes our resources allow us to do less and we must work with what’s given to us, even if that means cutting out things like social time (d’oh!) to do so.
A DJ friend from college used to lament that he didn’t have enough money to put together the dream production studio he always wanted. He also believed that once he got a job and was able to fund this studio, he then wouldn’t have the time or energy to use it.
So why do it? Why should he fight for the resources to build his dream studio if he won’t be able to use it? Was this reasoning merely a cover up for his fear, or a legitimate circumstance to create a workaround for? Maybe a little bit of both.
Between my day job and so many various side projects going on, I often feel the inability to be good, or even great, at any of them. I often say that creativity isn’t something that can be scheduled in. Sometimes, it just comes out when it wants to at the strangest of times.
Have you ever jumped out of bed because of something that popped into your head – an idea so fresh and perfect that it needed to be written down right away? How wonderful to have that idea and be able to run with it, even if it’s in the middle of the night!
There are a few instances when I didn’t schedule the time to be creative, or maybe I was supposed to be doing something “productive” (I put this in quotations because…what’s really the definition of being productive when it comes to creativity – some might say they’re opposing forces).
The best time for being creative can’t be put into the values of time at all. It’s when we allow ourselves to let the creativity flow — and we lose all track of time.
This happens with the great artists, writers, and thinkers. The greats allow themselves to get completely lost in their work. No schedule. No expectations.
For me, it doesn’t come so easily. I work around the times I’m in the office, or on weekends. Even if it means that I’m physically on a hike while my mind is back at home digging through a palette in iTunes.
Timelessness usually happens when I’m sequencing songs for a DJ mix, or when crafting together an essay. It always happens when I’m doing research for either of these. I completely lose track of time and stop asking myself “Am I on track?” The same goes for when I’m making art or cutting video.
The key is to find the long, uninterrupted stretches of time in which I can allow myself to relax, play, discover, assemble, and tweak. Finding the time is one thing. Embracing the creativity and allowing the energy to flow is another. Enjoying it when you’re there – well, that’s the best part. To me, this is heaven.
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