This past weekend I attended WordCamp San Francisco 2011, a conference for WordPress developers and users. Interestingly the one presentation that stood out to me was not the most techy, instead it is was Jeff Veen’s engaging talk, How the Web Works. He located our present information age and development of data networks for commerce within the history of the Pony Express and early telegram systems during the California Gold Rush.
As a former Industrial Sociology and Economic History major, I’m fascinated by how our global economy has shifted from the trade of goods to being service-based; and how work has adapted accordingly over the last century or two.
While my great-grandfathers made their livings as farmers and ironmongers, I make my living from providing services and selling digital products over the internet. Like many of us, my daily work is a far cry from living with the land in tune to nature’s cycles.
Today as I was Skypeing with my Mom, who lives in New Zealand, I had an epiphany about how my personal creativity cycle is starting to speed up as I react to the expectations of faster production cycles in this age of high speed technology.
As I develop more ebooks and eproducts, I feel this pressure to produce with a faster turn around time. I barely release something before I’m working on the next project.
It’s not hard for me to have a billion ideas at once — I am a Gemini after all! The challenge is knowing which idea is worth executing and following through to completion.
The troubling part is that I do not “sit with my success”, as my friend Elise has pointed out to me. It’s as if there is no time for rest, reflect on or celebrate my creations. I know I’m not the only one with this dilemma.
As a culture, we do not value the fallow season. This feels so counter-intuitive to me.
In my soul I hold the knowledge of my ancestors that my creativity fields need to rest after harvest before the next planting season.
Where are those late summer days of enjoying the fruits of my labor?
When do I walk through my ploughed fields, running the soil through my hands to determine when it’s time to sow next season’s crops?
Do I know how to rotate my projects so not to deplete my creativity fields?
Will I always try to meet the fast pace of the market or can I tune in to my natural creativity cycle?
Can I bounce back from a bad harvest?
All these questions have been turning through my mind throughout the day. I have a long to-do list of half-finished ebooks, new eproducts to produce, ecourses to plan and guest blogs to write.
But for today – and perhaps tomorrow – I am going to sit on my porch and look out on my creativity fields and toast all I have harvested this season.
It was a good season. I can finally honour all I have created.
I’d love to hear about your creativity cycles and how you determine your planting, nurturing, harvesting and fallow seasons. Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Photo by Melodi2
Hi, I'm Jo Crawford of Crafting the Sacred. I help creatives manifest the work they love with equal parts 
Cycles of creativity ..yes, as we talked today I realised that we do need space to just sit and rest. I have been trying to collect a body of painting for an exhibition later this year and worked for days on paintings. Then realised you need to stand back and re-energise otherwise you run down and things just don’t work – colours look wrong and shapes fail to form. Thanks again Jo for the interaction and time to share.
Thanks for stopping by Mom. I can’t wait to see the body of work you are creating. You’re right that stepping away from our creative work gives us a discerning eye again – a wise reminder!
I have the same feeling today…..I just want to sit and be and not do, do do. I’m a Cancer, sun in the 3rd house in gemini, with mercury and venus in gemini…So I know what it’s like to have a ga-zillion ideas at once and to fly in 6 directions trying to juggle as fast as I can.
Today thou….moon in pisces, mercury retrograde….ahhhh…just be.
Have a splendid day!
Kim
Ah yes, when the mind spins, it is always best to sit down and ground. Hope you had a restful day.
Oh this is such good timing as I have to say I am feeling the same as late after releasing my first kit. I have had many things on the back burner and after the release of my first gifts to the world I had the urge to push on with my other ideas which have been half finished for a while (note I’m a Gemini too!) . I have been in kind of a “funk” if you will. The only way around it seems to be to ignore it and get creating for the sake of creating not necessarily with a plan for sharing. Process art does it for me; I paint for the sheer fun & feel of it not caring about the product.
I had no idea we were both Geminis! Love the tip on process painting and creating for creativity sake – so important to remember when you’re a creative entrepreneur like us
This is really interesting Jo. When you said that you barely finish something before going on to the next thing it actually brought to mind something that Abraham (Esther & Jerry Hicks) said about keeping the inspiration flowing. So when you finish writing a book, for example, and launch it or send it out for publication offers, you should get straight back into the creative process and keep the inspiration flowing rather than sitting and stewing on the possible success (or not) of what you’ve just created.
I know it’s a little different to what you were saying but I thought I’d share it anyway because it’s a different angle.
I do feel like it’s also good to be aware of our up and down phases in a cycle and to go with it. That might not be at the end of creating each product but will certainly come up in those Mercury Retrograde cycles like we just had.
Thanks for your reflection and perspective on keeping the inspiration alive throughout the creation cycle. I agree with this as long as there is still a rhythm of creation, execution, harvest and rest – otherwise it starts to feel rather automated and manic to me.
I’ve been doing this and didn’t realize it until last week. I launched a biz August 1, but I didn’t slow down to enjoy the fruits of that labor. Instead, I zoomed straight into trying to make it better, obsessing about copy wording, not getting any sales (after only three weeks!), and what the critics were telling me.
I decided that I’m going to take a full week’s vacation the days around Mabon to truly celebrate my hard work and all the groundwork I’ve laid these last few months. I’ll sit back and take time to be proud of my creation.
We do forget. But we can remember.
So glad to hear that you’ll be honoring the harvest over Mabon with a much deserved vacation. It’s also perfectly aligned with the energy of the season as Mabon is the last of the harvest sabbats, after Litha and Lammas, and time to rebalance.
I can most definitely relate to the billions of ideas, and having to chose the ones we want to give birth to. I manage to keep my creative juices flowing by balancing my art, between my jewelry, paper art and fiber art for each of my shops. I suppose it serves two purposes, one I keep on creating which is such a passion of mine, without burning our per se on one type of art, and I can rejoice and celebrate my accomplishment of each as I cycle through. Very interesting point you make though, I suppose the busier we find ourselves getting the more we will be tempted to skip over the Fallow Season…something to keep in mind and remember.
Allurynn, sounds like you understand the practice of rotating your crop fields with all your various creative projects
Love this Jo. As I head into a phase of retreat, I am going to sit with this idea, that the fallow times allow us to burst forth with wild creativity later.
Ooooo, I wonder what delicious creativity you will conjure up!
I’m all about savoring the harvest.. in theory. Part of me keeps asking myself HOW I am supposed to actually do it. And I thought that I wasn’t one of those people who had trouble sitting still!
I have a suggestion to the writer in you for a way to savor your harvest — start a Success Journal. Jot down every victory – big or small – along the way. Every quarter go back and reread your entries. You’ll be amazed at how many little successes build up along the way!
That is an excellent idea! Thanks Jo!
Lovely post, Jo, and very relevant to me. It is so important to give ourselves some rejuvenative down time and as self-employed people if we wait until our schedules permit…it just never happens. No matter how overwhelmed I feel, I have to allow myself a balanced life or I really lose ground, healthwise, productivity-wise, etc.
Thanks for stopping by Sharon and sharing your experience. I also find when I don’t step back from my creative work and refresh, I start producing a whole lot of drivel!
Oh Jo, I can really relate to the ‘billion ideas’ and ‘pressure to produce’! Thank you for this lovely reminder to take a seat and enjoy the view for a while! I’m raising a glass toasting your harvest.
Thank you Suzana. Let’s raise a glass together!
Aaaah such a deeply moving reminder and received with much gratitude, Jo.
I too tend to rush into the next thing, ever busy, ever creating, and so need a few minutes to ‘honour my harvest’.
I have the kettle on …
I think I’ll have tea and give thanks.
Bliss-ings,
the goddess known as Jacqui
I think I may just join you for a cuppa
I feel like I just read a letter from my future self from 6 months from now. My business is just about to take off, and I am chock-full of future projects (Gemini-rising over here lol) and I can already see myself burning out from not giving myself or rotating my crops, as you so perfectly put it.
Thank you for sharing…I’m sharing it too! <3
You’re at the exciting phase right now of seeding a bazillion ideas. I look forward to seeing what your harvest yields. Good luck!