guide.notes 13 | declogging creative metabolism
dear seeker-friends,
~this is guide.notes #13, a weekly newsletter on opening the creative deluge, and building a digital world that nourishes your worldly life~
~
rest first, work later
in last week's letter, I invited you to rest, and I also rested -- by binging 2 korean TV shows, 1 film, and eating a book whole! (today)
to be honest, I used to feel guilty about watching TV, but these days, not really. my recent philosophy has been rest first, work later (rather than the reverse). I find that filling up on rest & pleasure is like fuel -- you sense into the satiation, then trust it to carry you to where you need to go.
but at the end of all this resting, I also felt myself craving some creative exertion -- an outflow to match the inflow. since one of my intentions is to seek deliberate inspiration & pleasure -- and to digest it, afterwards, I wrote and shared my TV & film digestions/analysis, below.
if you watch any of these, please do let me know what you think! <3 you can find them all on Netflix.
extraordinary attorney woo | "being different is magical"
my rating: 9/10
a wonderfuly complex yet light-hearted korean drama about a brilliant, autistic lawyer; her trials & tribulations
DP | "military service is a nightmare"
my rating: 8.5/10
a show I binged in a weekend — about a deserter pursuit unit in korean military service, and the sadistic abuses of power.
the disciple (2020) | "how NOT to be a struggling artist"
my rating: 6/10
a film about the journey of an Indian classical vocalist — and IMO, a portrait and guide for how not to be a struggling artist.
declogging your creative metabolism
this week I've been feeling a bit heavy/clogged/traffic-jammed/stuck -- in terms of art & business work. this is an all-too-familiar sensation for me, but now I finally realized why.
I'm attempting to do everything all at once.
I want everything to happen all at once.
I'm feeling clogged because I'm greedy/impatient in how much I want to do. it's like trying to fit 8 things through a narrow door, or swallow 5 things (without chewing). a very natural urge when the to-eat list seems endless and overwhelming -- but, of course I will choke!
I want to do a gazillion new projects while I still have a long list of unfinished things, weighing me down. I want to push forwards in expansion -- before I've released & completed what I'm already working on. this is my reoccuring pattern: tons of initiation energy and excitement around new ideas -- then stuckness at completing/releasing into the world.
I'm realizing: both cannot happen at once. they happen in cycles. the cycles can overlap, of course -- but not everything all at once.
my creative work can be divided into 2 phases:
Initiation/Birthing Energy
the possibility, expansiveness, and excitement of birthing a new project or idea -- when everything feels nebulous. anything is possible. I sketch, dream, doodle, create.
Completion/Death Energy
the nitty gritty work of bringing the project to the end. allowing it to finish, to be released into the world. to surrender it -- by sharing it with others. allowing it to leave me, and go out into the world (where I have no control over how it will be received).
you can look at these as: planting a seed (birth) vs. harvesting a fruit (death). the reality is that fruit have seeds, and death leads to birth -- thus the entire process is cyclical.
Questions I'm asking myself regularly:
- what's keeping me from completing / letting go / releasing this project? (perfectionism? overthinking? fear? scarcity?)
- what wants to be released (completely) today?
- what wants to be born (a little) today?
I'm curious to hear - what about you?
click to share with me
your responses to "artist child / business adult"
so interesting! I relate to all of them. I do think our culture squashes / ignores / diminishes the artist-child -- this is also where I started. but then sometimes they throw tantrums and dominate all the adults in the room. or they become sulky teenagers. I wonder what would happen if we learned to trust in our artist children to make wise business decisions -- AND gave our business adults room to play, breathe, and dream.
that's all for this week :)
oh, also -- one of my new projects/courses is visual play camp -- which I'm super excited about guiding and participating in. I'll share more in these next few weeks, but check it out if you're curious!
wishing you smooth creative flows,
kening
PS. I just dug up this post about my creative metabolism and digestion processes in 2018 -- I wrote this 5 years ago!!! wow, and it's still 95% relevant/accurate. trust your instincts, my friends!!
feed my world
your support waters my ecosystem. thank you for any amount you'd like to give ♡
