Saturday, January 31, 2009

Secret #4 Surrendering to Creative Cycles



"When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen; There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."~Barbara Winter

This chapter in 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women is about embracing the cycles of creativity.

Most of us have times that we feel that the ideas are coming quickly and will never stop and other times when the creative land seems barren and we wonder if we will ever have another decent idea or the will to implement it.

Jamie Ridler talks about what often leads to her "moods," those rather barren times, among some other great things, like what she does during these moods and how she survives them.

One of her mood predictors is something she calls being on the bridge. As soon as I saw the term, I knew exactly what it meant. I followed the link to a previous post she had about the bridge and it took me to that wonderful a-ha moment.

I have spent a lot of time on the bridge and I realize that it almost always has preceded one of my creative funks. I think I have been on the SoulCollage bridge for a year.

When I first received my certification I was excited. I wanted to learn all I could about SoulCollage so that I could share it with others. Preparing is fun; especially preparing without a deadline.

Once I scheduled a workshop, I began to fall into a non-creative place. I wasn't sure of myself. I was terrified and I pretty much put, "Please don't let anyone show up," out into the Universe. And that is exactly what I got.
I was relieved.

Yet, I was also disappointed and disillusioned. I would just drop the idea of facilitating altogether for a while (jumping off the bridge). But something always pulled me back. I repeated this cycle numerous times, as many of you have witnessed.

Thursday night, I finally did a real honest-to-Seena workshop. I actually crossed the bridge. I made mistakes. It wasn't perfect. But it worked. People enjoyed the process and learned things about themselves. They want to continue.

I finally get it! I can make mistakes and people will still get something useful. I can learn from my mistakes. I can also learn things from doing the workshops that I couldn't possibly learn any other way and these things will lead to better workshops. If I always jump off the bridge instead of crossing it, I will never improve.

Jamie said something very important. She said that she finally figured out that the bridge is just a link between two places that she loves.

I couldn't be sure that I loved both places until I finally crossed and lead the workshop this week. Now I know that I love where the bridge leads so the bridge is no longer a scary place.

I will no longer dread the idea of making mistakes. It's never going to be fun to mess up in front of people. Hey, I'm not a masochist. But it's not the end of the world.

I'm so grateful for this book group and for Jamie's amazing insight and her willingness to share it.

She also has a great interview with Leah Piken Kolidas, whom you probably know from Creative Every Day. Isn't it wonderful that we are surrounded by these highly creative women who are willing to share their hearts, souls and ideas with us and who do it so well?

14 comments:

Kate Robertson said...

Lisa,

I must have glazed over that concept of the bridge, thanks for sharing this. I am so glad you had a good Soul Collage class. I knew you would.

Kate

Caroline said...

So glad you had a good workshop - that is brilliant.

And thank you for your take on the bridge - I think its brought it home to me.

Cynthia said...

You did it!! WooHoo!!! I knew you could, and I'm finally so glad to visit your blog again! It's so happy here!!

My Facilitator training is in March, I can't wait, and your journey is leading me forward!

love to you!

Emily said...

yes - been on the bridge.
I need to tell myself this all the time:
If It Makes You Happy, Then it IS right.

If It Makes You Happy, Then it IS RIGHT.

and this sharing is so powerful, isn't it?

LissaL said...

It never occurred to me until reading your post that maybe my anxiety in real life about driving over bridges might correlate to other aspects of my life.Thanks for thump on the head:)

Anonymous said...

I think striving for perfection is the creativity killer - and people are just as human as you and we all make mistakes....thats how we learn I think! great post!

Leah said...

Thank you for sharing your experience with the bridge. I struggle with those times too!

Snap said...

Mistakes! If I had a nickel for every mistake I've made ... millionaire several time over. Mistakes are good -- they allow you to learn .. at least that's what I hope I've done. Proud of you for crossing the bridge! You go girl!

lisa said...

hi roanoke lisa, it's lynchburg lisa! I think the soul collage is amazing and would love to come to one of your workshops. contact me next time around. you are doing great things with your creativity.

titania said...

ahhhhhhhhhh what a heartwarming blog-layout. I absolutly love it! I am struggling in creating a new layout on my blog..........can you help me? how did you create? Oh I love pink!!!! maybe you can tell me how to upgrade my blog.................love to hear you blessings Titania

D said...

I love being a part of a group of women who are so willing to share their hearts and experience. Great job crossing the bridge. Keep doing it. You will feel better and better each time you do.

Lisa said...

I'm so excited for you, finishing the first workshop, learning what all you have to offer, and people lining up for more! This is wonderful to read, hurrah hurrah.

Did you celebrate properly? That's a big accomplishment!

Anonymous said...

the bridge is a wonderful metaphor for being in between places. and i am so glad that you found it within yourself to cross the bridge! your soulcollage work sounds really intriguing. celebrate your success with your workshop - you deserve it!!!

olwyn

DS Borror said...

I didn't see or get or read or something about the bridge concept either...but it is a nice analogy and fitting I think...some days I want to cross others I want to sit under it w/ the troll...