Working Through the Morass in the Creative Process

It has been a slow time in blog-land for me these past two weeks. A quick peek at my last post might give some idea why. Hanging out in the morass of Resistance is never an easy challenge and this bout is sure reminding me of that. But I have not sat still.

Thankfully I know that the morass of Resistance can be the fire out of which new creativity arises. The mythological symbol of the Phoenix rising from the ashes is an apt metaphor for this. So too is the Hindu Goddess Kali-the Goddess of Destruction. Before each new creation something else must give way. Psychologists, as well as others in the mental health fields, sometimes refer to this as Alchemical Transformation. While historically alchemists attempted to turn base metals into gold through purification methods and fire,  this term can also metaphorically refer to the process of psychological growth; in the fire of our difficult emotions our psychological makeup can be transformed.

To me, creativity, aliveness, has some of its roots in our individual and collective psychology. So I see my own descent into the morass of Resistance, the fires of uncertainty and self doubt, as an opportunity for psychological and creative growth. A, perhaps small, rebirth.

So, following Steven Pressfield’s direction in “Do the Work” (read this postfor a more in dept look at this big little book) I have continued to do the work I can do. Lately I’ve taken to carrying my new-to-me Pentax K1000 film camera around and have learned about the vagaries of expired film; I’ve switched to shooting black and white on my digital cameras (I shoot RAW so the file is still ultimately in color, but the preview is B&W and that is helping me “see” in B&W”); and I have been working on a photobook with images from my trips to the Yucatán Penninsula in Mexico which will soon be available through blurb.com.

 

The outcome of all this work still remains to be seen. But I suppose it is fundamental to have some faith in the process; to know in one’s heart that all will be fine again, that the mojo will return and the creative sparks will ignite some fires.

Speaking of that, I’ve got this idea for a project….