006 - Embracing The Solitude
The peace of creating in the quiet and the contrast of the noisy world.
Welcome to the Editor’s Journal; A daily thought on writing, the creative process, art, work, the world and how it all goes together. Every morning I rise between 5 and 6 am, I sit here in the quiet of my kitchen and I write whatever’s prominent. I have a bunch of article ideas saved, so I’ll either pull from them or write something new. I also write at larrygmaguire.com. I hope you enjoy the read.
This morning I woke later than planned - 7am.
That’s a problem because when my wife and kids are up I lose the solitude, something that I really value when I write.
I proceed regardless.
Mac on.
Coffee on.
Phone on silent.
Now then, idea…
The back of the house where I write faces south east and be it summer or winter, the sun always shines through the windows into the kitchen where I work.
The blackbirds sing and everything is alright.
I can’t explain the feeling, it’s just peaceful. The house is a special place for us, I’ve written about it how we came to own it before. You should read it. It’s kind of spooky good.
Why Do I Write?
I’ve ask this question of myself all the time and I reckon I’ve realised an answer. The answer has always been there I just didn’t make conscious realisation of it.
If you don’t consider yourself a creative type then you might misunderstand. If you are a writer, musician, poet, painter or otherwise, even merely in the making, then you’ll likely get this.
When I write there’s only me in the solitude of my internal dialogue. It has to be that way. If I have other things going on around me then I’m not completely here.
I get agitated when I don’t have that peace and quiet. Family don’t really get that and it can be so tiresome trying to explain it. I just seem like a cranky bastard who “doesn’t like to be disturbed”.
That’s my problem though, one I need to work on and resolve. Until I can get the shed at the bottom of my small garden converted I’ll just need to get my arse out of the scratcher early enough to avoid the noise.
Either that or just suck it up.
Back to why I write…
Yes, it’s self expression, but there’s more to it than that.
Let me explain.
I understand that all there is in the Universe is the self. A single self that becomes all of us.
Evidence of it is present everywhere if we choose to see. The entire earth is a perpetual creative organism making the same things and more, over and over again.
Trees, birds, animals, insects, clouds, rain, people…
On it goes, always now, more stuff coming out of what’s already here.
I’m growing tomatoes in a window box at the moment and nowhere is this idea of perpetual life more prominent for me than in that practice of watching them grow.
I’m just the observer, the facilitator of the process, an entirely unnecessary element. After all, the tomatoes don’t need me to grow them. They are perfectly capable of doing this thing on their own.
From that little seed so many more tomatoes pop into the world. From the soil, the air, the sun, that little seed takes what it needs and becomes more. From its center come a shoot, leaves, stems, more leaves, then flowers and eventually fruit.
Over and over again it goes, constantly reproducing itself.
How magical is that?
It blows me away to consider it.
We Are The Process
We are that same process although a little more complex I think. The tomato plant isn’t going to write a story about humans or some other organism. So in that regard it seems that thing is more advanced in us.
Not better mind you, just further along the road. After all we are the same process.
So when I write I feel I am the process. I am myself talking to myself, there’s nobody else.
When I read I’m reading to myself. Even when it’s other people’s stuff it’s me talking to me. There’s something in that thing I’m reading my self needs me to know.
So I need to be aware.
I need to stay now and understand that there’s nothing that I experience that is wasted. All is relevant, even the stuff I don’t want. All is fuel for the muse. The contrast is vital for the creative endeavour.
The world including me, is not broken. Just like the tomato plant that might lose leaves or bear fruit that’s not perfect, everything I create has a value, and so I create.
I’ve no choice in that.
I have to write. But it’s not a pressure thing, it’s an easy compelling urge to put things down. Take stuff from my mind and express it. Just like the tomato plant expresses leaves, flowers and fruit.
It has no choice, it follows the pattern of things, of it’s prior design.
We do the same.
Break In The Silence
I did have another subtitle written here but I had to change it.
Children and wife are up.
Enter the chaos.
Children are fighting and now crying over using each other’s drawing pads. The silence is broken.
Welcome back to the ordinary world.
Until tomorrow…
Larry.
The Artist’s Manifesto is a short book about staying true to our art. It is a call to Artists and Creatives like you to create from the heart with passion and integrity, disregarding the need for applause and recognition. It’s available from 13th May 2017. Grab your FREE copy here.
Like Some More of This Kind of Thing?
Howdy, I’m Larry, Writer & Artist. Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. I write about art & creativity. When I’m not doing that I write short stories about the ordinary lives of people and the challenges they face. My stuff can be edgy, hard hitting, and sometimes controversial, but never contrived. If that’s your bag you can Sign-up To Sunday Letters Here.
