I've been incredibly tired in the past week. I finally remembered I'm taking a new medication (to reduce my chance of recurrence of breast cancer) and it has added a layer of fatigue to my usual fatigue from liver disease. Last night I decided I had to have some concrete goals for this morning or I'd never make it out of bed. So I did it and it worked. I accomplished some tasks, even did some housework, and got my hair shampooed. Little things. But big when I feel this tired.
I'm signed up for an online writing challenge for February. It doesn't involved much time and just a daily commitment to write – not so hard, right? Wrong! I'm discovering just how much energy creativity requires. I'm so far below that bar, and I can't remember ever being this low. What to do? I keep writing twice a day. I write what I can to the level of energy I have at the moment. And I have this grand plan to build energy by exercising every day. Build on that. Use it. Set myself up to be creative by reading good books, going to good movies, visiting art museums and galleries. And hang out with other creatives.
Creativity exists in so many places. A great business idea. A new way of organizing to see a new perspective. Seeing a new perspective and feeling it. Childraising methods that are new and fanciful, whimsical. Writing your own blog. Posting a creative, thoughtful status on Facebook. Lots and lots of places and methods. What is your form of creativity? Everyone has one...or more.
Back to reading on the couch. Send me a little juice!
I know what you mean about the unexpected energy expenditure writing takes. When I spend a chunk of time writing anything -- a story, plans for class, a cover letter for a job -- I feel drained. The only writing that seems to be different is poetry. After I've been writing poetry, I feel only a slight drag on my energy. Mostly, I feel that I accomplished something and somewhat more optimistic about life than before I started. But even a long comment or status update can leave me feeling slightly heavy.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I need to work on is recognizing where I am frittering away my energy, and where I'm expending it, creatively, for something useful (and learn to appreciate that). For example, if I find myself going onto FB every time I'm bored or anxious, and I just scroll through my feed and "like" things or leave snarky comments on friends' posts, then I consider that a waste. Watching "Tabitha's Salon Take-Over" is a waste. However, when someone like yourself writes something thoughtful, and I take the time to respond at least somewhat thoughtfully -- something beyond, "Nice post, Dana" -- I feel that I should recognize that I have just contributed to the building of ideas and the maintenance of friendship.
I wish that society honored the time and energy it takes to engage in any creative craft. If I could get paid to write comments, you'd never hear the end from me!