Hello ◡̈ and happy new moon ◌
What do creativity and plants have in common? Mostly everything.
In my last two posts I have expressed my fond feelings for the inward, underground parts of creative experience. I think making a safe inner space for incubation is so important. Making art in secrecy and for the sake of being presently inward releases the pressure of performance, especially in relationship to the outside world. Phew. However.. we are not meant to be alone underground, always. There are complimentary forces that keep everything in balance!
So, it is not that I don’t want any results from the intimate depths of my creative experience to be seen or connected with ever. Perhaps there is just a natural rhythm of creating and sharing. Things you keep inward and things you set free. Emerging, retreating. Inhaling, exhaling. Waxing, waning.
The creative process reminds me so much of the seasonal cycles of fruiting plants. There is a time for the conception of a seed, and there is a time for when the resulting fruit is meant to be picked. And there is everything in between. This is the way.
In the winter, the energy of a tree retreats back down into the roots, and the leaves all drop. This is happening for the preservation of vitality. In the spring, that energy is again awakened and ventures outward toward the light, generating leaves and flowers to be engaged with in the ecosystem. And so on, and so on.
We and the trees are the same, riding the same spiral of cyclic creation. (Says me, your unapologetically flower-essenced woo woo friend, mystically daydreaming away while visions of fractals dance in my head…)
;-)
Here me out, though. What else could possibly drive creativity but the universal pulses of nature, softly expanding and contracting within and around us?
The energy of creation isn’t a constant, it is a cycle. My ongoing mission is to discover and re-discover what this means, to honor all phases of the cycles I find myself in, and to consciously tend to my creative practice in a cyclical and responsive way, like how one would tend to a garden.
Creativity and plants have so many metaphorical similarities because they are expressions of the same life force. Nature is creation. Creation is nature.
Patience. What needs more time in the soil? Trying to rush through your art might result in a lack of fullness in the same way that pulling a carrot out too early denies that carrot of coming into their true potential.
Conditions. What are the conditions of sustained life? Aside from literal sunlight, we need other kinds of light. There is not so much of a difference between the sun and the kind of light that feels like creative inspiration. We need solid ground. We need fertile creative soil. We need nourishment.
Support. Who and what helps us thrive? Sometimes we need support, like a post or a trellis, like a friend, a guide, or family. Community, cultural context, and cross-pollination can help all of the creativity flourish together.
Timing. When is an idea or project ripe? If we are attentive, we can carefully observe and properly nourish our progress over time. With continued attention, we will be automatically present for the ripening. Intuition will tell us even more.
Harvest. How to share? Harvesting starts with an offering. Simply bear forth your fruit - your ideas, insights, experience, and creations - and offer it in some way. Even if no one is there to harvest your fruit, the dedication and intent of the offering counts.
Attention. What needs attention / what needs to be left alone? Sometimes too much attention is too much intervention. Instead, consciously backing off for a period of time can allow nature to wisely lead the way.
Regeneration. What gets composted? The best part about compost is that it’s made up of things we think of as waste, but this waste can help generate new life. Making peace with the ideas that did not make it to the harvest stage is not an act of giving up, it’s quite the opposite. The experience, even of something you consider a failure, enriches your creative soil from which new life can emerge.
Dormancy. How is dormancy integral to productivity? Rest is not a break from the process, it’s part of the process. We need periods of sweet rejuvenation so we don’t burn out. The dormant times can be easily mistaken as unproductive, but actually they are extremely productive for the longevity and health of practice.
Surrender. When is it a dry season? When is it a season for bumper crop? When does the rain come? Knowing that some factors are more or less beyond our control also helps us to surrender to the higher wisdom of the process in a grander scheme, and in turn, some kind of higher plan for your “garden” may come into big alignment.
Any more ideas come to mind? Reply to this email! I love spiritual plant metaphors.
♡ Keep practicing ♡
-Kristen
P.S. Coming soon - for those who have subscribed to the creative experiments, the next one will be for creating achievable rhythms in your creative practice.
Thank you for reading!