I too have stepped away from my creative practice lately. I miss it dearly but can't seem to find the words or the softness inside of me to write/draw. the things that want to come out on the page are emotional and sometimes a little scary and I fear putting it down. I am sure I am not alone in this struggle but I do wish to find a way / a path to talking to myself about the things that scare me the most. I guess I have this idea that a creative practice should be pretty to look at. maybe it isn't always - because life is so complicated and sometimes not too pretty. thoughts on how to let a notebook / sketchbook just be - ugly and real?
Hi Liz, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I wish I could show you my notebooks in person. They are absolutely messy and imperfect. I also feel that sometimes, just talking about it openly about the fact that we are struggling to journal, is a way forward. I am sending many warm thoughts to you.
Right there with you in a fallow season of no journaling…at least not on paper. I tell myself I’m journaling my life in other ways—it’s just not recorded on paper. I miss the ritual, but sometimes it really just feels too heavy, too much “just one more thing” that I just cannot. And so, like you, I give myself gentle permission to set the journal and pens aside and just be. Trusting that the words will flow again feels just as much a par of the practice as the daily writing. ❤️
Hi Wakako, I had a couple insights that I learned that I wanted to share with you hoping that might help. I read a lot of books on attention for over a decade now, and I recently read Dr. Gloria Mark's Attention Span who explains different stages of attention in the brain, and of course why we sometimes choose to escape, and spend our time with distraction. She explains this is "rote attention" and it is you brain's significant need to take a break from cognitively demanding tasks, it is actually good to get into "rote attention" mode. If you can do a quality rote, you can get back whatever you need to focus on or is important for you. The ideal is finding higher quality alternatives to Netflix for when your mind wants to take it easy. Services like Netflix are basically exploiting your brain's very natural need to take a break. I just unsubscribed from it maybe 2 years ago now. You can still watch something light without a Netflix subscription. Finally, workaholism I believe is cultivated early on in Japanese culture for my daughter goes to public Japanese school immersion since she is 4 in Portland. I got interested in Ema Ryan Yamazaki's documentaries on Japanese education, and it has been mind blowing to realize how a very high standard of work ethic is introduced since early childhood. It got nominated for an Oscar this year, and you can actually watch the whole documentary free on YouTube World Channel since 2 weeks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB8ZtKxdA30 She also has another one on Japanese High School baseball and Kochien.
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I am very interested in the "rote attention" idea and look forward to exploring different ways to engage in the rote mode. Also, thank you so much for letting me know about the documentary.
I went through that period of not writing when we had a traumatic event happen in our business. It seems like there are times when the whole situation needs to be a bit further away before I can write about it. James Pennebaker wrote a wonderful book that covers the benefits of writing even after time has passed. It’s the beauty of our notebooks - they wait patiently 💕
yes, indeed. It is the beauty fo our notebooks. I am so grateful that I am surrounded by a community who gets me!!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Mary.
I too have stepped away from my creative practice lately. I miss it dearly but can't seem to find the words or the softness inside of me to write/draw. the things that want to come out on the page are emotional and sometimes a little scary and I fear putting it down. I am sure I am not alone in this struggle but I do wish to find a way / a path to talking to myself about the things that scare me the most. I guess I have this idea that a creative practice should be pretty to look at. maybe it isn't always - because life is so complicated and sometimes not too pretty. thoughts on how to let a notebook / sketchbook just be - ugly and real?
Hi Liz, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I wish I could show you my notebooks in person. They are absolutely messy and imperfect. I also feel that sometimes, just talking about it openly about the fact that we are struggling to journal, is a way forward. I am sending many warm thoughts to you.
Like the best of friends, the beloved notebook will be there when we can meet them again. It’s that simple. Beautiful, Wakako ✨
yes, yes, and yes.
Right there with you in a fallow season of no journaling…at least not on paper. I tell myself I’m journaling my life in other ways—it’s just not recorded on paper. I miss the ritual, but sometimes it really just feels too heavy, too much “just one more thing” that I just cannot. And so, like you, I give myself gentle permission to set the journal and pens aside and just be. Trusting that the words will flow again feels just as much a par of the practice as the daily writing. ❤️
Sending gentle energy your way, Lena. And yes. your notebook and pen will be waiting when words starts flowing again.
Hi Wakako, I had a couple insights that I learned that I wanted to share with you hoping that might help. I read a lot of books on attention for over a decade now, and I recently read Dr. Gloria Mark's Attention Span who explains different stages of attention in the brain, and of course why we sometimes choose to escape, and spend our time with distraction. She explains this is "rote attention" and it is you brain's significant need to take a break from cognitively demanding tasks, it is actually good to get into "rote attention" mode. If you can do a quality rote, you can get back whatever you need to focus on or is important for you. The ideal is finding higher quality alternatives to Netflix for when your mind wants to take it easy. Services like Netflix are basically exploiting your brain's very natural need to take a break. I just unsubscribed from it maybe 2 years ago now. You can still watch something light without a Netflix subscription. Finally, workaholism I believe is cultivated early on in Japanese culture for my daughter goes to public Japanese school immersion since she is 4 in Portland. I got interested in Ema Ryan Yamazaki's documentaries on Japanese education, and it has been mind blowing to realize how a very high standard of work ethic is introduced since early childhood. It got nominated for an Oscar this year, and you can actually watch the whole documentary free on YouTube World Channel since 2 weeks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB8ZtKxdA30 She also has another one on Japanese High School baseball and Kochien.
Hi Selin,
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I am very interested in the "rote attention" idea and look forward to exploring different ways to engage in the rote mode. Also, thank you so much for letting me know about the documentary.
I went through that period of not writing when we had a traumatic event happen in our business. It seems like there are times when the whole situation needs to be a bit further away before I can write about it. James Pennebaker wrote a wonderful book that covers the benefits of writing even after time has passed. It’s the beauty of our notebooks - they wait patiently 💕
yes, indeed. It is the beauty fo our notebooks. I am so grateful that I am surrounded by a community who gets me!!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Mary.