Lately, I feel the things I don't know threatening to overtake the things I know for sure. (And please don't ask me about the Rumsfeldian unknown-unknowns. For those you must consult my closest friends and family.)
I have no clue how we're coming out of Pandemic Pause. Though I did just walk through a mall and a grocery store and Bloomingdales, all of which felt way more crowded than my comfort-level barometer could abide.
How are you emerging from the last year and a half?
Are you rising from a deep sleep feeling refreshed, renewed, reinvigorated?
Or are you tentative as you take your first baby steps along a slightly overgrown path, following signs that appear to read:
This way to "normal" --->
or was that:
They say go "normal" ---/
or
Which way to "normal?"
I don't know about you but I notice my mood is all over the place.
And so it seems to me, if we're going to be living with uncertainty for a good while longer, sanity and productivity just might depend on a few constants in life to balance all the question marks.
Check in with Comrades to Check Your Course:
I need to stay connected to colleagues who "get it." Anyone in your world who you know truly understands what you struggle with week in and week out is a key to staying grounded during these super stressful weeks and months. Especially now when I plan to be heading to a lake, beach or swimming pool as often as I can to jump, swim, float and bake, having some time to commiserate with my fellow sloggers will be essential to my staying the course and not squandering an entire summer chasing my tail.
Fans will Fan Your Flame:
I hope you've managed to connect with at least some of your fans during Pandemic Pause. It almost doesn't matter how you do this as much as that you do it in some form. Whenever I run right into a reminder of how much love there is out there for the characters I create, it fuels me to write more. How could it not? Find a way to stay close to them. And they will fan your flame. I promise.
Fearless R&R Requires a bit of Planning:
If I ask a simple question about vaccinations and CoViD precautions before I put on my swimming trunks or dinner jacket or panda costume, I'll have better odds at really unwinding with some actual R&R. Don't let other people's issues trample all over your own. To let my hair down I need to know I'm not breathing in a brand new variant. How about you?
Reset with a Return to Reliable Routine:
I heard someone on the radio talk about the importance of prayer as a daily ritual.
And the idea that if you pray every day you might be better equipped to tell the difference between those days when it feels powerfully real and the days when you might simply be phoning it in. I like this idea and think we can (and should) apply it to a daily creative practice. If I set aside time at least once a day for making work (whatever that work might be for me) then my bullshit meter might improve as well.
Another way of thinking of this is like using graph paper to copy a drawing or painting. If I break down the large picture into bite-sized quadrants, each exactly the same size and shape, I may stand a better chance of making sense of the whole. Can a year in the life of an artist be viewed this way? Put down a marker at 10AM each and every day and pretty soon you just might start to notice things you otherwise may have missed.
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