It's easy for me to remind friends going through rough patches that prioritizing self-care during difficult times is the wisest action – like the airline travel directive we are all familiar with (but hopefully have no actual first-hand experience with) of putting your own oxygen mask on before tending to others, in the event of an emergency.
Yet when I'm in the hot seat, self-care inevitably falls to the very bottom of the list. I'm not talking about an emergency situation or crisis – thankfully – just everyday, ordinary, not-keeping-up. Lately it feels like that is my norm – constantly behind with no end in sight, when even a (relatively) minor IT crisis can throw a serious wrench into my delicately-balanced schedule, like a house of tissue-paper cards.
While I like to blame technology and the ever-increasing demands on our time it ironically requires, the root of the issue is myself, my expectations, and my deeply-ingrained tendency (learned in childhood) to get all the work done first, then relax (or play/have fun). This conflict of interest – a life and livelihood built around my creative output and the misconception that “all the work” ever gets done can be problematic at times, but maybe it's the juxtaposition of these (opposites) that provides the fuel for what I do.
Luckily, one of the many hats I am privileged to wear is that of teacher. It's impossible to speak/teach about “letting go” and “trusting the process” when I am white-knuckling the wheel and racing the clock and calendar! It's an opportunity to put the brakes on my drive to “finish” and instead remember why I'm doing what I'm doing in the first place. All it takes is a day now and then, away from obligations, routines, and demands on our attention. Even a few hours – to do nothing, read a book, see some art or be in nature – investing in our creative selves can yield outsize rewards.
Do you need a boost in balancing out your priorities? Spring is the perfect time to cultivate your creativity (a necessity not a luxury), and sow seeds that will have a lasting impact.
On April 20 I'm teaching my core class on working with structure as a springboard to limitless creative solutions – Improv Theme & Variation in Norwalk, CT. I'm also teaching this same class on May 11 at Fiddleheads Artisan Supply in beautiful Belfast, ME. In July, I'll be at Madeline Island School of Crafts for a very juicy 4-day dive into improvisational patchwork and words. Join me!
