Creative Encouragement For Dark Times.

By dark, I mean all the edges, itches, icks and irritants of fumbling away in the realms of the unseen, trying to bring something meaningful, beautiful and true down to Earth. And doing that while the

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Hi. Here I am. Waving across the void.

I’m passing through a creative hell realm. 
It’s fine. 
I’ll be fine. 
It’s helpful to know where I am and why it’s excruciating. 

You know when you’re masturbating but can’t come and you’re like why am I even bothering? And then you judge yourself, like, I should just enjoy the process, enjoying the process usually leads somewhere good. But then it doesn’t and you get caught in your head and the frustration of the pressure leads to somatic dissociation and you’re like fuck it, I’ll just go water the plants and be sad. 

It’s like that. 

Maybe it's perimenopause, maybe it’s the planets, maybe it’s the broligarchy. Maybe it’s the poor decision to follow my love of variety into too many creative projects all of which are meaningful and important and weave together into something stunning in the highest vision I hold for them so I don’t want to let any of them down. 

Having multiple things in progress is not new and I trust myself. 

Having multiple things in progress, all of which are asking me to go further into the cave and none of which have crossed that satisfying wave into a promise of completion is panic-inducing and panic does. not. help.

Some gentle affirmations and reminders seem to.  

If you are also toiling away, lost in the dark of what’s not revealing itself or you haven’t been able to wrangle into form, and focusing is hard because of hormones or the horrors of humanity, I’m not here with answers, just a warm hand to hold. 

Here are possibly helpful (or possibly annoying, I don’t know what to tell you, hell realms are hell realms) affirmations…

I will not collapse in despair. I will descend gently and indulgently into my despair and make love to it, make art from it. 

I will not diminish the value of making art. I will not rush the unseen. I will let myself be lonely in the fear of being trapped here forever.

I will not give in to the seductive thoughts that disappearing into the depths will lead to the death of my relevance. Inhabiting deep time over urgent time is more satisfying every time. 

I will not use violence towards myself to produce a result. It will take the time it takes. I will be kind and loving. I can take myself seriously while holding things lightly. 

I will not deny myself joy and pleasure. I will not martyr myself to systems that benefit from my extraction and lack of well-being. I will rest, play and delight as a right. As a fight. As an act of resistance.

I will not exalt efficiency. I will revere imagination. I will waste time, words and effort as a practice. As a reminder that time, words and effort needn’t be scarce. There’s no rush, only the invitation to revel. 

I will revel in the hell realm of this part of the creative process. Resisting what’s so is cruel. I trust myself. I trust the mystery. I trust myself. I trust myself. I trust myself. 

With Love,
Chela

PS - One area where my trust in myself never wavers is my capacity to help midwife people’s life’s work. To hold a steady hand along the crooked path of meeting and feeding Calling. 

Next week I am hosting an in-person workshop: Regenerate Your Life’s Work. 

It’s a small group, immersive deep-dive intensive in the most stunning wrap around ocean view studio you’ve ever seen. Join me and let nature, connection and collective genius nourish your Calling into its next sacred iteration.

PPS - One way to support my work (or my virtual relevance because everything is *barf* algorithmic), is to smash that heart button and/or comment. You could also just comment because you have something to express and I care about receiving your expression, especially if you need creative encouragement in dark times. Let’s chat…