Thank you This Cat. When I am Rut-Stuck, I consult the Ceiling dust bunnies, the bunnies that hang from my ceiling and blow in the breeze when I have not brushed my ceiling for a while. As I lie in my bed wondering if I am enough, I ask them what they think I should do.
Lately I am thinking that I am not enough because of all the big problems in the world. This disturbs the flow of energy toward mathematics which is my creative energy wants to go.
The ceiling bunnies remind me that there are 8.1+ billion persons in the world. We are all just trying to get from birth to death the best way each of us can. They tell me that I am only responsible for my actions, that I am an adult and it is my responsibility to make decisions on my personal problems the best way I can in the moment. They tell me that I cannot change the past, I cannot predict the future. I can only live now.
I told the ceiling bunnies that I will from try from now on to spend the best 3 hours of each day devoted to math and let all the other problems of my life wait until that 3 hours is over. It is a plan, and a plan only survives first contact with the enemy.
Only time will tell if this is a workable decision. But that is in the future so I won't live there.
Sound like Pat has embraced acceptance...very wise. Please tell ceiling bunnies Cat says hello. Cat sends best wishes as you stay present in the flow of energy 🌀
Hello Pat - this sounds like an excellent approach. I have just noticed a number of ceiling dust bunnies. Previously I would’ve knocked them down, but now I believe I will let them be. And ask them for their opinions on many things.
Oh,Cat...what a beautiful,touching,informative piece...I loved it;learned so much.Your description of Ray cracked me up...the both of you and your combined wisdom could rule the world,but who needs that headache?! I,too,struggle with 'stuckness' and its depressing,feeling-of-uselessness effects.What helps me: I lost sight in one eye 13 years ago so stopped driving,I walk everywhere now.Something about the Zen feeling when walking for miles or puttering in my tiny garden helps lift me up and stirs my creativity most times.Just sayin'...Thank you for stopping by,Cat;you always make my month!Much love to you from me and my three fuzzballs...🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤
Cat think walking is verrrrry underrated for creative stirrings. Thank you for sharing this. Sometimes Cat forgets how moving body also helps move mind. Sending love back to you and fuzzballs ❤️❤️❤️
Just want to add,"You treat ideas like cats:you make them follow you"...and "Creativity comes when ready,soft and perfect"...brilliant! Love these...😽💕
I have also been in the stuckness, Cat! But I think that creativity has seasons. If we try to plant the garden in winter, nothing will bloom beneath the snow. We have winters in our hearts. But spring always follows.
Cat, you have articulated the very thing that needles me on a continual basis. The origin of creativity. Like many things in life, I try to bend it to my will, control it. Occasionally this works but only sometimes. But waiting for the muse to strike is also fraught with fears it will never visit me again. This binary thinking has gotten me into a lot of trouble.
Sometimes it seems to work by “going to work” - meaning, going through the creative motions, letting whatever spills out, spill out. This sometimes clears the cobwebs (but NEVER the dustbunnies - they are sacrosanct) and the not-so-great ideas out, clearing the path for the eventual unspooling of better ideas.
George Sands used to write thirty pages a day no matter what, good or bad. That was her method. And it speaks to something that I think accompanies creativity (sometimes) - craft. Yes, many ideas and great works of art spring whole cloth from us every once in a while, erupting spontaneously, completely formed. These are gifts. Other times, we must build them, brick by brick.
All that said, I agree with you. Living in a state of agitation about whether creativity will ever walk through the door again is a special hell we seem uniquely qualified to construct for ourselves. It is mental self-flagellation.
I have many dustbunnies who live with me. It is time to consult them.
Many nuggets of wisdom shared here. 30 pages! Cat knows a little of this George Sands—good reminder of another author to add to Cat's stack. Cat did try the morning pages once and found some magics in the process. By the time 3 months had passed, Cat realized that the what the pages did was allow Cat to dump out the frothy, foamy bits of Cat's thinkings in order to make space for the sweet meats. Even though Cat is prone to sudden zooms of creativity, as Cat gets older, Cat responds better to building brick by brick. One of Cat's readers wrote a comment describing their 3 hour a day dedication to the creative flow of mathematics. Cat wonders...is there something to the number 3? Scroll up to read comment, maybe ceiling bunny consultation would be fruitful. Thank you for comment, Beth 🐱
Yes, Cat, exactly my experience with morning pages as well. Something else I learned from another teacher - proprioceptive writing, akin to morning pages, but letting one’s thoughts go even further afield. Things pop out that surprise me, the unconscious mind revealed.
I appreciate your thoughts very much. Thank you for writing. 🍤🍤🍤🍤
Cat has never met ceiling dusties. Maybe @Pat Georgeson can tell you more. Cat imagines their perspective to be radically different than that of the floor dustbunnies!
Very wise - thank you for reminding me. Very early in my writing career, I was told to just write anything if something good wasn’t coming. “You can’t edit a blank page.”
The croissant water is a sacred elixir, steeped in the buttery essence of a thousand flaky layers. It is said that those who bathe in it achieve ultimate crispiness while radiating the aroma of a Parisian bakery. Truly, a refined and distinguished practice.
Shrimp🍤🦐🍤
Delicious.
Walking outside, seeing sky, plants, trees, other people, and yes, cats! 🐈⬛
Shift in perspective and feeding the senses, all very good advices. Thank you /ᐠ - ˕ -マ
Thank you This Cat. When I am Rut-Stuck, I consult the Ceiling dust bunnies, the bunnies that hang from my ceiling and blow in the breeze when I have not brushed my ceiling for a while. As I lie in my bed wondering if I am enough, I ask them what they think I should do.
Lately I am thinking that I am not enough because of all the big problems in the world. This disturbs the flow of energy toward mathematics which is my creative energy wants to go.
The ceiling bunnies remind me that there are 8.1+ billion persons in the world. We are all just trying to get from birth to death the best way each of us can. They tell me that I am only responsible for my actions, that I am an adult and it is my responsibility to make decisions on my personal problems the best way I can in the moment. They tell me that I cannot change the past, I cannot predict the future. I can only live now.
I told the ceiling bunnies that I will from try from now on to spend the best 3 hours of each day devoted to math and let all the other problems of my life wait until that 3 hours is over. It is a plan, and a plan only survives first contact with the enemy.
Only time will tell if this is a workable decision. But that is in the future so I won't live there.
One minute, one hour, one day at a time.
I like this plan very much.
Sound like Pat has embraced acceptance...very wise. Please tell ceiling bunnies Cat says hello. Cat sends best wishes as you stay present in the flow of energy 🌀
Yes, she has lit the way 🕯️
Not acceptance, but prioritization.
Thank you for clarify. This distinction is important. ≽👁️ܫ👁️≼
Hello Pat - this sounds like an excellent approach. I have just noticed a number of ceiling dust bunnies. Previously I would’ve knocked them down, but now I believe I will let them be. And ask them for their opinions on many things.
Wow. I like you. You seem smart
cat sticky=my life over
Nyoooooo
comment writer find unsticky thing through magic G *continues to dump cooking oil on Cat* comment writer hopes thing unsticky Cat
lmeowwwww if cooking oil comes from frying shrimp, Cat is okay with this scenario
🍤🍤🍤 :)
≽👁️ܫ👁️≼
🎈🐾💛🌱🍤🎈🍤🌱💛🐾🎈
Delightful.
🌶️chili pepper to add spice to life
🥓bacon—why not?
🍤crunchies to improve mood, always
Hope this helps, Cat.
Perfect bite: spicy, salty, crispy. Cat thanks you /ᐠ. .ᐟ\ Ⳋ
Oh,Cat...what a beautiful,touching,informative piece...I loved it;learned so much.Your description of Ray cracked me up...the both of you and your combined wisdom could rule the world,but who needs that headache?! I,too,struggle with 'stuckness' and its depressing,feeling-of-uselessness effects.What helps me: I lost sight in one eye 13 years ago so stopped driving,I walk everywhere now.Something about the Zen feeling when walking for miles or puttering in my tiny garden helps lift me up and stirs my creativity most times.Just sayin'...Thank you for stopping by,Cat;you always make my month!Much love to you from me and my three fuzzballs...🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤
Cat think walking is verrrrry underrated for creative stirrings. Thank you for sharing this. Sometimes Cat forgets how moving body also helps move mind. Sending love back to you and fuzzballs ❤️❤️❤️
🍤🍤🍤🍤
≽^˙Ⱉ˙^≼
Just want to add,"You treat ideas like cats:you make them follow you"...and "Creativity comes when ready,soft and perfect"...brilliant! Love these...😽💕
Creativity is cats! 🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🌮🍣🦪<- what in the world is that? Just offering things my cats also like.
crunch crunch slurp :3
I have also been in the stuckness, Cat! But I think that creativity has seasons. If we try to plant the garden in winter, nothing will bloom beneath the snow. We have winters in our hearts. But spring always follows.
Yes, this! Wise thinkings and a lovely expression of working with the cycles of nature 💐
🍤🍤🍤💓
Thank you for sharing wisdom Cat!
Cat is always learning ≽👁️ܫ👁️≼
Cat, you have articulated the very thing that needles me on a continual basis. The origin of creativity. Like many things in life, I try to bend it to my will, control it. Occasionally this works but only sometimes. But waiting for the muse to strike is also fraught with fears it will never visit me again. This binary thinking has gotten me into a lot of trouble.
Sometimes it seems to work by “going to work” - meaning, going through the creative motions, letting whatever spills out, spill out. This sometimes clears the cobwebs (but NEVER the dustbunnies - they are sacrosanct) and the not-so-great ideas out, clearing the path for the eventual unspooling of better ideas.
George Sands used to write thirty pages a day no matter what, good or bad. That was her method. And it speaks to something that I think accompanies creativity (sometimes) - craft. Yes, many ideas and great works of art spring whole cloth from us every once in a while, erupting spontaneously, completely formed. These are gifts. Other times, we must build them, brick by brick.
All that said, I agree with you. Living in a state of agitation about whether creativity will ever walk through the door again is a special hell we seem uniquely qualified to construct for ourselves. It is mental self-flagellation.
I have many dustbunnies who live with me. It is time to consult them.
Thank you, Cat.
Many nuggets of wisdom shared here. 30 pages! Cat knows a little of this George Sands—good reminder of another author to add to Cat's stack. Cat did try the morning pages once and found some magics in the process. By the time 3 months had passed, Cat realized that the what the pages did was allow Cat to dump out the frothy, foamy bits of Cat's thinkings in order to make space for the sweet meats. Even though Cat is prone to sudden zooms of creativity, as Cat gets older, Cat responds better to building brick by brick. One of Cat's readers wrote a comment describing their 3 hour a day dedication to the creative flow of mathematics. Cat wonders...is there something to the number 3? Scroll up to read comment, maybe ceiling bunny consultation would be fruitful. Thank you for comment, Beth 🐱
Yes, Cat, exactly my experience with morning pages as well. Something else I learned from another teacher - proprioceptive writing, akin to morning pages, but letting one’s thoughts go even further afield. Things pop out that surprise me, the unconscious mind revealed.
I appreciate your thoughts very much. Thank you for writing. 🍤🍤🍤🍤
Question: are ceiling dustbunnies a different ilk from floor dustbunnies?
Cat has never met ceiling dusties. Maybe @Pat Georgeson can tell you more. Cat imagines their perspective to be radically different than that of the floor dustbunnies!
Ah HA! I will indeed inquire! Thank you!
Very wise - thank you for reminding me. Very early in my writing career, I was told to just write anything if something good wasn’t coming. “You can’t edit a blank page.”
Ah, I like that a lot! Good point! Thank you!
shrimpies!!!!! 🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤 oooo a different kind of shrimpy 🦐🦐🦐🦐
Cat loves variety ≽👁️ܫ👁️≼
Please shambles, tell Cat about the croissant water...
The croissant water is a sacred elixir, steeped in the buttery essence of a thousand flaky layers. It is said that those who bathe in it achieve ultimate crispiness while radiating the aroma of a Parisian bakery. Truly, a refined and distinguished practice.
Cat aspires to reach ultimate crispiness 🥐💦
😻🍤🍣🍤🍣🍤🍣
Decadent.