Previously on The Muse is In…… I promised you an explanation about Lull, The Muse of Taking a Break, since we talked about John Singer Sargent’s “Resting” painting.
In an ironic plot twist, Lull told me to stop writing this and go lie in my hammock under the pepper tree and stick out my finger out so a butterfly will light upon it.
Muses get cranky and hold your favorite pen hostage when you don’t listen, so I’m headed to my bed to lounge because I don’t like to be told what to do and doubt the probability of cooperative butterfly behavior. But I like the idea of taking a break.
Lull, for those of you who haven’t met her, is a Muse from my first book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration. She’s all about the importance of letting go of the process to allow the mysteries within us to reawaken especially after intense concentration on a project, when needing some breathing room for clarity, or finding ourselves in the midst of creative chaos.
She’s not lazy nor is she procrastination in sweatpants drinking Jack Daniels straight from the bottle. She is the sacred, slightly subversive art of stepping away so something wiser can step in… and trusting it will.
I’ve been intensely getting ready for an art show reception in two weeks and was spending inordinate amounts of time putting together a comedic dance class. Additional small detail: I have been a workaholic all my life and having just had a significant birthday, I am interested in the adventure of what it’s like to chill. I know I can’t go from 10 to 1 so I’m experimenting with taking small five minute breaks.
Lull leans against the door frame of my overachieving tendencies and says, “What if you paused for a moment and trusted that what appears to be doing nothing is actually doing quite a lot?” Just asking the question is helpful.
“It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.” ~Gertrude Stein
Lull points out that when I push past my limits, my work gets tighter, less of who I am, and isn’t as fun. My brushstrokes lose their swagger and my writing ruminates in circles with uninteresting adverbs.
But when I listen to her, I put it all down, revisit past works to remind myself of who I am, or sit against a haystack like Sargent’s resting woman who clearly has excellent boundaries, something loosens. Creative energy returns like cats who were never lost, just ignoring me on purpose. Full disclosure: There are no haystacks in my vicinity, but I do have an adjustable bed which is the modern equivalent of a haystack and is bug-free.
Many equate rest with “not being productive enough,” but what I know from experience is the radical notion that rest is a legitimate part of the creative process. We need time to incubate, percolate, and allow the subconscious room to communicate with us without distraction.
So this weekend, I’m giving you and myself permission:
To sit down and know you’ve earned it.
To daydream
To trust that your creativity is not a fragile house of cards that will collapse if you stop fussing over it.
To show up to your work, when you are ready, because you enjoy it, not because you’re afraid of not being enough if you don’t.
And if a voice shows up with a clipboard and a whistle, kindly inform it that you are currently in a meeting with a Muse…. You are.
For me and I know for many of you, choosing writing and art that affirms our souls and relaxes us, are their own break from the world itself.
Resting,
Jill
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