Even In Summer It Rains
I went for a swim in a beautiful lake and got caught in a rainstorm. It was so wet I couldn't dry off afterwards and ended up walking back in my cossie and coat!
“For this is life, this is joy and despite it all, this is what we live for.”
(Shared with permission)
Recently composer Michael Betteridge tweeted:
'Composers. I seemingly never have two productive composing days in a row. If I have a really good productive day, it's pretty much always followed by a slow one. Anyone else like this?'
In amongst some great replies, I said:
'I try to trust that whatever each day brings is what the piece needs to bring it to fruition (even if I'm angry about it). Tood often we're taught that we have to be energetic and productive ALL THE TIME. Nowhere in nature do we see this. Season, etc. Even in summer we get rain.'
Much of my cyclical living is influenced by my hormones - I'm a non-menopausal cis woman, my body following the rise and fall of oestrogen and progesterone. After seven years of breastfeeding, my body is going through further hormonal changes.
These hormones have notable affects on my creativity, and so I follow them (imperfectly) in order to balance my work and health and family.
Ultimately, as I said in my last newsletter, for creativity purposes (and just starting out), it doesn't matter which cycle you hook into. You could choose, for example:
The impact that the moon has on the water within our bodies.
The Seasons
Equinoxes and Solstices
Or, you could create your own cycle that feels aligned to you and what you need right now.
The way that I have been taught to break it down is:
Inner Winter (Bleed/ New Moon)
This is about resting, recuperating and coming back to yourself. There is no lack of creation, however. Think of how desiduous tree branches appear bare in winter... but they have buds growing ready to blossom.
Inner Spring (Pre-ovulation/ Waxing Moon)
Ideas blossoming, but not 'doing' yet - almost like yawning after you wake up.
Inner Summer (Ovulation/ Full Moon)
Creating, producing, bringing to life all that you have planned - but also ensuring not to give away too much. Reserve some of the energy for yourself too.
Inner Autumn (Luteal Phase/ New Moon)
Here is where we feel the anger, the frustration, where we experience the blockages and our emotions around them to their fullest - and notice what we would like to change in our lives.
So whichever cycle you choose, give yourself the breathing space of 'four seasons' of conserving, ripening, spending and introspection.
This isn't new work.
This is knowledge that has been hidden and lost through generations of colonisation and cultural genocide.
Our creativity is intrinsically linked to the Earth. In trying to be better than human (Western cultures), we've ended up losing our connection.
... I almost apologised for sounding like a hippy, but I won't -
if you can think of it logically, why wouldn't our creativity be affected by our emotions, surroundings and energy?
Our senses take information in, our bodies make sense of them and our creativity forms it into shapes that then help us to communicate to our fellow people.
Often we're taught to override our needs in order to be consistent, to produce produce produce. When actually, maybe trust in our needs and our knowledge of how we best create, is the thing that we need to be developing instead.
The thing that living cyclically has given me is PERMISSION.
Permission to feel not feel like being productive.
Permission to put myself and my well-being first
Permission to be angry! (That's a big one)
Permission to move away from a capitalist view of my worth being down to how 'useful' I am.
So yes, while feeling that we don't create as much as we want is frustrating, sometimes allowing ourselves the freedom to engage in non-creativity and radical rest can mean that we're more connected to our artwork than ever.
We're not meant to be constantly producing.
Even in summer it rains.
I've reopened my teaching practice, working with creatives struggling with artistic block.
In order to make it more accessible, I've changed my booking and pricing structures -
- £80 per hour
- The first three sessions you book with me are 'pay-what-you-can' (minimum £50)
- Book one or a block of sessions
- Up to three sessions a month
For more information, email me and let's chat.