Creative Block: Are You Standing in Your Own Light?

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When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: "Only stand out of my light." Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand ...When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: "Only stand out of my light." Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light - John W. Gardner (1912 - 2002)
Sometimes the creative self yearns to express itself but doesn't know where to begin. It's blocked somehow, stuck. It is difficult enough to hear the muse within when others are standing in your way telling you how and what you 'should' create for your art or your life experience. I call these people "The Shoulders". They 'should' all over you. Who can create under that pile of poo?
It is devastating for any person to meet with a creative slump, to suffer from the loss of inspiration. This devastation leads to a fear or anxiety that the creative spirit within will never return. To add insult to injury, this fear only drives the muse within farther away. Fear sucks the life out of the creative soul.
If you are worried that you've 'lost it' you may be standing in your own light. You may be should-ing all over yourself. You may have thoughts of "If I don't create right now I'll never create again" or "I'll be destitute if I've lost it as an artist". The fear overwhelms you like a dark cloud and blocks out your inspiration, the voice of your muse. This voice comes from deep within your heart and if your heart is beating and racing out of fear it is impossible to hear this guidance that sparks your creativity.
If you're in a blocked state recognized that you're merely blocked. Blocked things are easily unblocked if they are examined and the blockage is removed. Heck, if your sink is blocked up you'd call in a plumber to take a look and unblock it, wouldn't you? It's time for you to be your own plumber.
Examine the block, the thoughts. What thoughts have put you in a state of fear? Are you:
1. Thinking that you 'should' be something other than an artist?
2. Worried that your work isn't, or you aren't, good enough?
3. Scared that you'll never make a living as an artist?
4. Think that you have to be considered a great Master in order to be relevant?
5. Never satisfied with your work because it is never perfect?
If any of those statements sound familiar ask yourself, "According to Whom?" You'll discover the answer is, deep down inside, "according to me". You are standing in your own light.
Congratulations! You've discovered the gnarly thing that is blocking your creative flow.
So how do I remove the block?
First, take a deep breath. Take a walk. Do something spontaneous or even silly. Get away from the project, the canvas, or the manuscript. Do something that gives you energy instead of depletes it. Go to a movie or spend some with your spouse or children doing something that you don't normally do. Get out of your routine. Break out into a hearty laugh! Give yourself a kiss in the mirror. Do anything that will make you feel better. And when your feeling better you will stop should-ing all over yourself. You will get out of your own light.
Remind yourself of all that you do well. Acknowledge and honor your truth and personal passion as an artist. It's whom you were born to be so doing something else is not what you're here to do. Make note of all the artists who are making more than just a living as an artist. If they can, so can you. It's all about how you show up in the world. Are you showing up as an artist, or a light blocker? Those who show up as artists enjoy the life of a fully express soul. Creativity flows with the stream instead of against it. Effortlessly. Joyously.
When we are angry or depressed in our creativity, we have misplaced our power. We have allowed someone else to determine our worth, and then we are angry at being undervalued. - Julia Cameron, The Vein of Gold

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