ANDRE BEGIN

As I was reviewing my schedule, I couldn’t believe I could get so lucky in the middle of summer: a few consecutive empty boxes on the calendar, with no firm commitments. How was this even possible?

My mind started racing over the possibilities of how I could use that time. Should I tackle a new screenplay? Should I rework a draft that fizzled out before the final act? Should I invest time in building up my reserve of completed blog articles? Should I cozy up with some of the books I have been meaning to read?

They were all great options that made me giddy with excitement at the prospect of more time for creative fun at a relaxed pace.

But then things started happening.

During a leash walk, Ivy the cat had a close encounter with a wasp, leaving her rattled by the experience more than anything else. The next day, she had an appointment with the vet during which she was supposed to have a check-up including blood work and a urine sample. Unfortunately, Ivy was not in the mood for any of it, and the appointment had to be rescheduled. Scratch one of those free days.

That evening, my partner received a call from our arborist who was prepared to show up the next day with his crew and take care of the trees we needed maintained. When they arrived, I decided to tackle some yard work that had been on the back burner, just to be visible if they had questions or needed anything. Scratch another free day.

The evening after the tree maintenance, we got a call from the exterminator, saying he could come the next day to take care of our wasp issue.

Then, after the exterminator’s visit, just when I was ready to sit down and resume my writing projects, the lawn care crew arrived with its orchestral arrangement of power machinery.

Before I knew it, days were being filled with other activities that needed to be done. The passionate writer in me had to manage his expectations.

However, throughout this experience, an important life lesson emerged: the acceptance of life circumstances that can get in the way of my trajectory as a creative.

It had nothing to do with a lack of ideas, focus, or discipline. It had nothing to do with laziness.

It was life.

I couldn’t just ask my partner to take care of everything while I barricaded myself in the office to write. That’s not how a partnership works.

Despite the messaging we get that writing is about routine, mind over matter, and discipline, there are times when I know that the desire, the words, and the energy to write are there, but I am needed elsewhere. That’s just a fact of life, and there is no reason to feel shame or defeat. It has taken me some time to get to a point of accepting that and extending myself the grace to let life run its course.

Fortunately, situations like these are temporary, and at some point, the passionate writer in me will have his turn. Along the way, that doesn’t mean that I can’t jot down good notes that I will use when I return to the computer. The fact is that I’m always jotting notes. That’s just part of my creative process.

It seems that the busiest times tend to happen in late spring, summer, or early fall. Once the snow falls, there is less to be done outside. That is when getting into the writing bubble and staying there is significantly easier. That being the case, I have come to accept that there is a reason why I am more prolific in cold, winter months.

If that’s my peak time of year for writing, I can work with that! If that’s the reality of our current living situation, then why fight it, feel guilt, or feel like I’m not measuring up as a writer? Why try to control the uncontrollable?

This isn’t to say that what we do as creatives is not important. Art, in all its forms, is very important.

What I am saying is that when life happens, we need to give ourselves the grace to accept those times, to not feel defeated, and to make a point of returning to our projects as soon as we can. Along the way, we can still plug in to creativity in stolen moments, whether taking notes, sketching, or perfecting our craft. As long as we keep the creative juices flowing in the background until our calendars clear, we can then return to make the art we need to share with the world.

Did you enjoy this post? If you did, your likes and shares are most appreciated. If you haven’t already, please check out the rest of my blog at andrebegin.blog.
Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André