Breathe. Shake your hands out. Breathe again. Slow down and look at your work. Where are you in the cycle of creation? Identify which part of the process or what element you are working on right now. Feel the substance of your material under your hand. Be mindful of what your creative energy is saying to you. Enjoy right now, and don’t look to the end… yet.
Creating is not about racing to the end to see the end result. Creating is engagement with your work in all its stages because every part deserves love, attention, appreciation and a freedom from judgement. This conscious engagement will make your final outcome truly part of you and bring you total satisfaction. It will speak to you and who you are called to be. It will also speak powerfully and meaningfully to your audience.
Main objectives of a creative thinking process is to think beyond existing boundaries, to awake curiosity, to break away from rational, conventional ideas and formalised procedures, to rely on the imagination, the divergent, the random and to consider multiple solutions and alternatives.
Sefertzi, E. Creativity. 2000
Keep in mind that this is your gestation period. Nothing wonderful is made instantly. Rather, it takes time, focus and love to achieve fruition. Why not enjoy the honesty of your elements and what they bring to the table? Afterall, these elements empower you to explore deeper and broader. By honouring them and giving them attention, you are building your senses, opening yourself to new experiences and overcoming your fears. Each element, each process, each part is important to integrate into a complete whole.
So breathe. Shake your hands out. Breathe again. Slow down and look. Touch, smell, listen, and feel your work as it is in the moment. As it is right now. As it is in your heart.
By Cheryl Cook