My Very Dear Creative Spirit,

It sometimes seems that life gets in the way of our creativity, when actually we’re the ones deciding to live our lives in distinctly less than creative ways.

I was reminded of this while creating 175 pieces of original art for our new book- on a schedule, with all sorts of “real life” subjects entering in.

These subjects included some health issues, business challenges, and periodically feeling really discouraged about the amount of work and the feelings of pressure about the timing in which to do it all.

And it’s really challenging when you TEACH what you are then experiencing the opposite of 😉

I’m so glad that I’ve always chosen to be transparent about what I’ve learned and what I’m still learning.

As my friend Val says, “Some things are just plain hard.”
And some things are.

How we experience that level of hardness and what we creatively do and think about during those times is entirely up to us.

And the creativity and creative ways of thinking are always there!

We just need to open to new ways of seeing and acting.

Which is the LAST thing I’m drawn to when I feel stressed or pressured.

And of course I also know that there are joyfull solutions that I can create. And I frequently am able to create them- even during stressfull times.

Here are a few other ways to allow new kinds of solutions to emerge during times of stress, overwhelm or pressure:

1. Locating whatEVER will take the pressure off- even briefly- and doing less, or doing whatever it is just “good enough.”
2. Quitting. Just stopping & quitting. 
3. Exploring what kind of feelings you DO want to have, and then finding a way to provide those feelings for yourself- in even tiny ways.