Lolita has been enjoying quite a bit her precious time off from the day job. Thanks to Deuce, she opted for staying home during the six days off, for simply diving deeper into the creative work which is her food and her breath. Of course the recent hurricane passing through has also somewhat discouraged much in the way of road trips.
Walking with Deuce this morning, Lolita expressed how easily she could get used to her vacation schedule as a regular thing. The more leisurely, thoughtful walk with her Spaniel Muse, vocalizing and singing chassidic niggunim, social networking, creative writing and, of course – her composing. Maybe, she suggests to Deuce, it is time to take a chance and hang up the day job, to have faith that the savings will hold out until a new revenue stream is established from the creative work.
Deuce is not unsympathetic to Lolita’s yearning. And besides, if it means more sniffing time, more squirrel time, which he is getting this week, what could be wrong? Nevertheless, being the wise Spaniel Muse that he is, he urges restraint. Deuce feels that the romantic notion of the struggling artist, who sacrifices comfort, security, stability for the sake of full creative “freedom” is somewhat overrated. And he feels this might be especially so for older artists still making their way to technical mastery and earnings from the art.
Deuce feels that for many artists, a reliable income takes enormous pressure off of the creative work, in effect facilitates a more measured and steady artistic growth. Although the total time available each day for creative work is obviously curtailed by the day job, the flip side is that the artist holding that job must organize very well, plan each day’s work and goals very carefully. Sometimes when our schedules are crammed we end up getting more done than when we have a clear slate.
Finally, Deuce reminds Lolita that the day job offers an opportunity for daily social contact, to exercise organizational skills, to strengthen powers of concentration, to engage in basic problem solving on a daily basis. He encourages Lolita to value her process, and to consider the day job, until she no longer needs to consider the day job, as a part of her creative process, not as something foreign to it or competing with it.
Be sensitive to the conditions that enable you to optimize your creative growth. If you can engage honestly and fully in whatever small amount of time available to you for creative work, you are engaging honestly and fully with your Creator. Listen to Her voice for guidance.
spark on!
midisparks
Creative Sparks 