Accept the Call
“The mind needs to be given rest so that it can return to its work with renewed vigor.”
— Seneca
I will never understand why our culture rewards overworking. In yesterday’s post, I talked about how you need to give yourself permission to go away and write. In that post, I mentioned how another writer shared that she needed a week of rest just to recover from her busy home life.
We really do need to rest so that our creative brains can show up to work at full capacity. Some people say creativity is our birthright. I say let everything else be done half-assed as long as when it’s time to create, you can show up in full force and create something that makes you proud.
I remember in one of my jobs, I told them my job was my hobby and writing was my life. And you should have seen the way they looked at me. Boy, you should have seen the amount of proof of my writing talent they demanded of me. I had nothing to prove. I chugged along and continued to remind myself that it was my second job, not my first.
Let’s pull it together now.
We need to reserve our creative energy.
We need to rest our bodies.
We have got to quiet our busy minds.
I love the way Seneca said to return with renewed vigor! I think that’s what makes it worth it.
As writers, we carry the entire story. We hold the entire world, and we make up all the characters and let them all live rent-free in our heads.
But once we step away from creating,
it’s time to let the world carry itself.
Jayne.press 