just showing up
the section header (at least for now) these posts all live under is titled ‘blog/diary’. i’ve noticed recently the posts have tended towards more ‘blog’ type content - where i am sharing thoughts / ideas and (please no..) opinions, on stuff. this week’s post may well be more like a diary post.
it’s been a busy week at the day job and a good chunk of my free time has been focused on helping a friend by working on a video to accompany one of their forthcoming releases. as weeks go, it’s been a good one - tiring but positive. the downside is though that it has left me feeling a bit depleted and, perhaps unsurprisingly, that has impacted on how easily the creativity is flowing in terms of my own music and this blog.
turning a negative into a positive, this is a good reminder for me that creativity is a flow, but that flow works in both directions, you expend creativity and you draw in creativity. for me, i draw in creativity by spending focused time on ‘actively relaxing’ - not just vegging out on the sofa half watching the TV - but being outside in the world being replenished. this can be by being quiet in nature or by going for a walk in the wooded areas near where i live or by mooching around charity shops on my own and having a coffee with no particular time constraints. whatever it is, it’s alone time and it’s just for me.
it’s interesting to me to note that this week, for the first time in a while, although i had a good week by many measures, i didn’t get that time to myself and, perhaps (but probably not) coincidentally, i’ve struggled for inspiration.
if you are reading this and it resonates, my message to you, if you need it, is “you are not too busy to make that time for yourself. if you do not make that time for yourself, it will have a negative impact. so please make that time.” now i just need to write that out on a blackboard 100 times like bart simpson to remind myself :)
the flip side of this is that i’m still here this week doing the blog and the music sketch post. it may not be as good this week, but the mere act of showing up and hacking something out is affirming and positive. it also serves as a reminder that i cut a corner in my creativity this week and, to some extent, got caught out cheating myself. the old me just would have skipped doing the posts, blaming it on having nothing to say and letting myself off as i’ve had a busy week. now i can see that would just make it easier to ignore the fact that i was neglecting myself and lay down the challenge to myself to do better in future.
in other news, i went to ‘music in the city’ in southampton yesterday. volunteer run, bands and artists playing in every available space across the city. everything free at the point of entry but people could donate which is then split amongst artists. it really helped that the weather was good. more towns and cities should do this.
next week i’m going to levitation 24 in bedford - i’m very excited about it - the lineup looks great and i’m making a long weekend of it. then the weekend after i’m at machina bristonica, which i am equally excited about.
gonna be awesome.