The Essentials for a Creative Life
All through history, there have been people who have created art at their leisure, but also, while at their work.
What are folk songs but the songs of our souls as our bodies toil at work in the fields?
Yes, we need to make time for silence, to cut out the noise and distractions, but the creative life is not at odds with our life and responsibilities. On the contrary, life and responsibility complement creativity.
You don’t need to wait until your kids grow up. You don’t need to wait until your kitchen is clean. You don’t need to wait until you can take off an extended period from work. You don’t need to wait until you have financial independence.
The essential thing for living a creative life is not attending weekend retreats; it is not large chunks of time set aside to be creative; it is not even making regular progress in your creative project.
The essential thing for living a creative life is to pay attention to those yearnings in your soul, and to give expression to those yearnings in whatever creative practice is available to you.
