Knowing What to Create
On blocks, bad pots, and not waiting for the perfect time to take the first step.
It might take some time to plan and test a few things, but never let not knowing what to make stall you from creating. It might need a little break from what you are doing to feel refreshed enough to work out problems. It may be that the block is simply the fear of failure. Starting a new thing and working out problems as you go might be part of the process and the journey.
Just like when we learned to walk, we first had to learn to sit up and roll over. Then fall a few times after bracing ourselves on furniture. When we took our first steps it might have been a huge deal to us and those around us. We did not wait until the perfect time to walk, nor for any muse to inspire us. We stumbled around until we took off. This has happened to me personally a few times. The block was not that I didn't know what to make but the fear of making bad pots. I had to make all the bad pots to gain the experience to make the good ones.
There will be times when you do not know what to make. The important thing to do at these times is to show up in the studio anyway and just start something. Even cleaning has led to some new and exciting things for me. Also, taking a break and doing other things you enjoy can help break the spell of Resistance. Reading a good book, taking a hike, visiting family, or creating in some other way. Just be sure not to take too long.
Taking too long not knowing what to make is the way Resistance is able to stop us from creating and bringing about the changes we seek to make. We get comfortable doing the same things and the easier things and in turn forget to spread our generosity in the world by creating and solving interesting problems. At times it might take a long time. Many have spent their whole lives working on things only to pass on for others to finish.
If I were living yesterday a second time: I would have shown up in the studio with no plan and started something instead of sitting in the house thinking about what to start.
Things I am grateful for: All the bad pots that came before the good ones.
If I get to live to be 86, I might only have: 12,655 days left.
Originally published at Creek Road Pottery
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