Associating Structure with Restriction

Okay, I’ll start. Guilty.

There’s this agitating struggle when you’re trying to craft something concrete and you have a troupe of various possibilities dancing around you. It’s a dream and a horror. Yes, it feels great to get a strong breeze of creative abundance but when in attempts to tackle a very specific project, that can easily turn into a tornado.

Distressed and searching for an anchor.

I didn’t really realize it and even denied it at times when it came to resisting structure. I didn’t want to seem like the creative rebel, I suppose. But after accepting that fact, I was able to clarify the roots to this issue and resurface memories where an impact regarding this issue took place.

I traveled to childhood with my military father who referred to us as troops and had a routine for everything. Often times, routines that cut into my creative time. As a child my creative time consisted of being outside in the trees, writing songs and poems, reading, talking to animals, seeing where my imagination leads to. (I guess that’s not too different from me as an adult ha). And I really valued it.

And school in general was a bore to me. I’d have my favorite teachers and moments in school but overall, the structure, rules and regulations had me just about to make a run for it. I managed to make nice grades and graduated in the top ten of my high school class but boy was I ready to go.

A Narrow path can lead to an infinite world. Stay focused. Recognize your target. And shoot. The creative has a tendency to become overwhelmed with all that it is. Which is all. And instead of the ‘magician’ holding the wand steady, the wand is holding him. Focus and aim.

The creative process is laborious. The act of preparing to birth something. Take this blog post for instance. To write it was to do several things: Think and conceptualize, decide on this topic, gather ideas, type, edit, reassess, learn, include images, edit again, and publish. The publish button was the moment of birth. The moment of delivery.

This is not to associate the creative process with pain but to acknowledge the inevitable tension it renders. I began to teach myself to love it. Love it by honoring it. Embracing it. Truly understanding it and how it applies to everything. Through that, I was able to shave tons of time off of production and having something much better complete much sooner. Before, it took an unnecessarily long time because I had no solid focus. I had Ideas jumbled together, but with no solid focus they just created space and time for stagnation who always seems to invite fear and anxiety.

Structure caters to creativity. It is there in honor of creativity. To stand as a foundation and road map for creativity to flow through and do its best work. Structure understands the potency of creative energy and is aware that without itself creativity may not necessarily form into anything. Structure can be loose or tight and adapts to whatever the situation calls for. By allowing yourself a foundation, you offer yourself a golden ticket to a concentrated treat. You allow yourself to see your potential.

These are some short tips to remember while in your creative process:

Appreciate Effort.
Become the process.
Dedicate yourself.
Have no expectations.
Be patient.
Determine your focus even if your focus is have none at that point.
Inspire yourself.
Balance imagination with execution.

Morning thoughts.