Often time artists and authors have a one and done. One album that rocks, one novel that astounds, and then they slip back into silence. It’s no big mystery, all of that energy that’s been building up finds a release in their creative project. It’s as if it has nowhere else to go. Then comes the almost impossible task of living in connection with that creative energy on a daily basis, evolving and growing alongside it. The same can be said for all of us, only our creative project is living our authentic lives. Harnessing the initial breakthrough energy is the easy part. All of a sudden a moment comes when we just can’t continue on the way we’ve been going, it’s as if we are stopped dead in our tracks. Now comes the same dilemma, how to keep inviting that new energy in and following where it leads. Sometimes it means letting the life we have been building fall completely apart. What we’re being asked to do is figure out how to continually delve into that deep inner well and bring up the fresh water.
The answer, of course, is a complicated one, and that’s part of the reason why the process of living with this powerful creative energy is so hit and miss. There are a million books, lectures, and programs telling us how to tap and cultivate this energy. A fortune is made on outlining strategies for living in closer contact with our creative life, hardwired to the inner electricity that flows through all of us. What these books really are is a testament to how each of these people figured it out for themselves. All of these words are valuable, but in the end we are the only key. No one can tell us what our process will be, or innumerate the steps we will need to take in order to achieve a life we are excited about and actively engaged in. There is no one definite course that will fit us all, no magical practice or divine contact. (Although being in connection with this creative energy can feel just like that.) In the end it boils down to our hard work, but more importantly it’s the consistency of that work. What’s required is our dedication, tenacity, patience, and in the end our relentless persistence. This is the only answer that will lead us to a living a life we love.
We will hear no a lot, we will run into obstacles, dead ends, and frustration. We may feel disconnected and want to stop trying. But if we consistently put our energy where we feel alive and enlivened we will find exactly what we are looking for, a solid connection to that illusive energy that nourishes us and directs our lives to deeper layers. Ultimately it’s what puts us in touch with the numinous. Slow and steady, consistent and persistent, these are the requirements. How we utilize the tools and techniques at our disposal will be different for each of us. But ultimately we are the only key that unlocks the mystery and moves us one step closer to the source of our deepest creativity and to living our life in a full and rewarding way. We keep exploring our options, making connections, reading, writing, dreaming, meditating, taking care of our soul. We get lost, we get found, but the changes in the quality of our lives will only come from consistently working at it.
Again and again, the answer is always us.
kb
