I'm just finishing up a 4-day run of almost back-to-back appointments, each day having been just a bit more fully booked than the last. And I've noticed a few things.
I have a natural resistance to tightly scheduled days. I find that when I have a day composed of 8 or more appointments, there's a part of me that starts to feel a bit stressed. The stress probably comes from the natural human tendency to arrive at any encounter with another human being (one that isn't our lover, brother or mother) with a touch of apprehension. Fear of the unknown. After all, we humans are reservoirs of the unexpected. Put two human beings in a room together and there's no predicting exactly how things will unfold.
So a day full of appointments can be stressful even if not on a purely conscious level. It can take its toll just beneath the surface.
And yet, I find, because at my core I do love other human beings and always emerge having learned something, if I power through, if I ride the waves from one to the next and the next that in the end I may be exhausted but I am inspired.
And that's when I think--especially for writers--it's essential that we schedule a day or two of space. Space in the calendar. Space in our heads. Space for quiet time with nothin' but me thoughts.
After a couple days in isolation with me and my inner voices, the next time I see another human being I arrive hungry. Hungry to absorb anything that isn't borne of my unconscious. Hungry for the unexpected unpredictable sound and fury of another human being with their own history, their own biases, their own passions and obsessions.
And it's off to the races again.
When life's working, there's a natural ebb and flow to all of this. One that works well to support my own creativity and happiness. Sometimes it feels as though I'm forever tinkering to find just the right balance. But sometimes if feels like I'm almost there.
How 'bout you?
