Perseverance

It is said that each of us comes into this life with a purpose and that we each have our own unique way of expressing who we are.  My thought for the week is more a question, "How do you express yourself?" 

When I think about that question, I feel a sense of creativity that underlies the answer.  To express my deepest inner self I need to find an outlet by which to do so.  For me, it has largely been through the use of the body, movement and choreography.  As I've gotten older another channel has been opening up...writing.  When I first began this weekly column of "My Thought of the Week" it was a way of staying connected to students from around the world. Palm Springs is a seasonal locale with folks visiting during the winter from Canada, the Northwest of the US and many other places.   As I returned to Australia for various visits, workshops and retreats, my network expanded and creating a weekly "thought" was a way of staying in the loop with a student population that ebbed and flowed.

What this meant was that I needed to create, on a weekly basis, something new and, hopefully, relevant and interesting.  On many occasions, I sat down to write my weekly and feel I have nothing to say. I sit wondering if anything will emerge and try to avoid the temptation of retreating to past writings to save that moment of suffering for lack of inspiration.  Yet what I've learned through this process, is to broaden my scope throughout the week, to seek themes and trust my instinct.  Part of this bubbling up of ideas comes from doing nothing to make it happen.  The more I search and try to force a topic, the less authentic it seems to feel.

I would bet that most of us sit before a project of creation feeling the same way...what will arise, if anything?

Part of the process is becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable and the unknown.  It's partly just letting the words fly onto the page and editing later.  It's allowing ourselves to take those first steps to ignite the process and then opening ourselves completely to what flows out of us.  And that's a key word...flow.

When you see someone who is in a creatively expressive process or performance it appears to be effortless, as though anyone could do it, they make it seem easy...it just flows. Our impression is that they're just one of those "gifted" people who has inherent talent and only needs a canvas onto which to express themselves.  But we know that those who have produced breathtaking works have been able to do so because of perseverance and discipline.  An accomplished author once said to me, "just write a page a day...every day".  Hence, the discipline and hard work it takes to actually bypass the fear of it being lousy and simply starting.  That journey that begins with a single step is reflected on all creative paths.

The next piece of just beginning is to drop judgment of what initially emerges. Perhaps we nail it on the first attempt, but more likely it's the seed that gets planted, then fertilized, then weeded before it' s plucked for consumption.

So my thought of the week is to encourage all of us who have that spark to allow it to blaze our path, even if it smolders initially, to keep going.  Let your passion drive you over the bumpy bits and trust that what you have to express is a reflection of your unique expression. This is what keeps us interested and interesting...go for it!