It’s Thursday, so I’m Crafting my Life! For 2011, I have ditched the themes and link-ups. Instead, I am just going to write what I’m thinking about this week. And if you would like to chime in and contribute a guest post about your own journey, please drop me a line and we’ll chat.
Have you ever forgotten a word that you know you should remember? I have, I do it all the time. I’ll be talking merrily along, and then suddenly I’ll trip. The word I’m looking for vanishes, and I end up using another one in its place, but I know it’s not quite as good. And then I spend some time wracking my brain, trying to remember what that word is, again. It doesn’t come to me.
But then, three days later I’ll be cutting the crusts off yet another PB&J and for my kids and it will hit me like a blinding flash of light. Equivocate! That’s the word I was looking for in that moment. While I had mostly forgotten about the episode, some part of my subconscious had not. While I was going about my life, it was working and coming up with an answer. Sure it would be cool if it worked a little faster, but I’m happy to be free of that niggling question all the same.
I have observed the same sort of phenomenon happening as I undertake new projects. Let’s say I come up with an idea, but I’m not sure how to implement it. I can think and think, and not come up with much, try as I may. But something happens later, often when I’m just drifting off to sleep, or engaged in an activity that’s physically repetitive and doesn’t require too much thought. Seemingly from out of nowhere, I suddenly produce a solution that moves my idea forward significantly. Back when I made baby carriers, in fact, I had a flash of sewing inspiration that was so compelling I had to get out of bed at midnight and test it out.
I know I’m not the only one who experiences this sort of thing. A lot of creative types recommend keeping a pen and paper on your bedside table, so that you can record those flashes of inspiration that come to you in the middle of the night. A lot of people seem to have their best ideas when they’re straddling that place between being conscious and unconscious. Apparently, when we’re relaxed our brains produce alpha waves, and alpha waves “turn on” creativity. There’s even a scientific explanation for the whole thing.
So, what is my point? It’s that even when it doesn’t look like it, our brains are always working. So it’s not necessary to have all the answers as you set out to craft your life. Even just formulating one or two questions is huge. Then, without much effort on your part, your subconscious mind can do its thing and work on them. If you’re open to it, you may find answers when you least expect it. You may start seeing patterns and getting inspiration as you drift off to sleep. Or you may just be in the place to key in on solutions you stumble across in your daily life.
Of course, deliberately creating a life requires work. But even more than that, it requires us to get out of our own way. We don’t always have to force everything, and we don’t always have to know exactly where we’re going when we set out. We just need to know that we want to get somewhere, and be willing to read the directions as they come. Which is really a huge relief for me, because I would love to pawn off some of my work on my subconscious.
What about you? Have you ever had flashes of inspiration from out of nowhere? What is that like for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
PS – A couple of weeks ago I was on the radio! I was on Real Parenting with Shirley Broback in Victoria. Well, she was in Victoria, and I was in my bedroom on the phone, but you get the point, right? We talked all about Crafting my Life. And now you can listen to my interview online.
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Twitter: bitterindigo
says:
Last night while I was lying awake telling myself that the pain in my chest and under my left arm totally wasn’t a heart attack, I was trying to remember what those cherries are called that are more yellow than red. I swore I was going to google it first thing this morning. Then I forgot again. I know what you mean, but my alpha waves have been drugged into submission for the last few weeks and have been doing nothing but sending me terrifying dreams about misplacing my children and abusing my husband’s grandparents. Don’t ask.
allison’s last post … Narcissistic is the New Insightful- Cranky Book Review
Twitter: bitterindigo
says:
Rainier. Rainier cherries. It came to me the instant before I googled it. Sigh.
allison’s last post … Narcissistic is the New Insightful- Cranky Book Review
Twitter: AmberStrocel
says:
I read your first comment, and was just going to answer it.
I hope your dreams improve, soon. That doesn’t sound like much fun.
I’m like The Fonz on Happy Days. EVERYTHING comes to me in the bathroom. It’s as if when I’m, er, on the potty, my logical brain shuts off for good reason, and Bingo Bango!
In the world’s most annoying, and most inconvenient pattern, my inspiration ALWAYS comes when I’m not really in the position to pay conscious attention to it. It’s been this way all of my creative career. Back when I was a musician, I actually had to sleep with a guitar next to me so I could wake up and strum out the songs that came to me as I was drifting off to sleep at night. (and then of course I wrote a song about how my guitar rides “shotgun.”) I also had to keep a voice recorder in the car because I could write entire songs while I was driving. But if I tried to put aside time to do that? Oh no… way too convenient. I could never write “on demand.”
And now with the blogging? UGHGHGH…. It’s 2:04 am and I’m awake right after wrapping up a post because all my inspiration seems to come as I’m drifting off for the night. I actually have to get out of bed, write a few sentences, and then force myself not to finish an entire post sometimes. Usually I get on a roll and don’t stop, though, which leaves me too tired to function in the morning.
I’m glad I’m not the only one this happens to though! My husband has always thought my Brain-That-Runs-All-Hours-of-The-Night is some hilarious freak show kind of thing. Turns out, it’s pretty common!
TheFeministBreeder’s last post … I Am Going to Rock This Birth Rock It
Twitter: ladymrules
says:
Yes, and I think those creative flashes happen more often when I’m better rested. Which means I should probably go to bed.
Twitter: fuoriborgo
says:
Do you know the story of the famous writer who’d always have brilliant ideas in the middle of the night, but then in morning all he remembered was having had a brilliant idea for a story, so he finally decides to keep pen and paper on his bedside table, and in the following morning he reads what he wrote: “a man meets a woman”. Not sure what the message is (original ideas don’t exist? we should sleep more? we should look at everyday life for inspiration?), or why I bothered writing it down here – it just flashed in my mind as I read your post
Francesca’s last post … everywhere handwork bag
Absolutely, my brain churns in the middle of the night, too. Since I’ve got children tangled atop my body at night, I found a pen with a red filter (preserves night vision) so I can write without disturbing anyone else. It’s the only way I can ensure my writing ideas and yoga sequence-philosphy tie-ins aren’t lost by morning
Zoie’s last post … Wordless-Tandem Breastfeeding Holding Hands