#163: So in moments when there's chaosā¦
it is time to manage expectations and review progress.
There was an official photographer at the venue last night, but until those pictures appear elsewhere, this will have to do. I ended up being second on. It was one of the hardest things Iāve done for a while but as this spot (which had a mini stage about five years ago) was where it all happened, it seemed important to record the space. It also felt right to be here with these people.
Everybody was lovely, and there was only one thing that I could have done better. Everything else was near perfect, and I even managed to create a poem before we started. It wasnāt what I expected but simultaneously it absolutely was, and the opportunities that have now presented themselves are both many and varied, including offering myself as support for a few peopleās projects.
Letās look back and reflect at what we can now take from this going forward.
Thatās the most honest I have been and acted since forever, not only in a social situation but about my own personal thoughts and feelings. Spontaneous writing is becoming really fruitful, if I let the moments of pure creativity move through me. There is also a real sense that Iām not allowing enough clarity to shape the immediacy of observations: what do I mean by that? Why did I just write that?
When an idea comes to me on the go, often Iāll just write it down and find the time to return to it ālaterā, especially in spaces where writing is not normally what would happen. Last night, a moment in the park outside the venue made me stop and think enough about what the visual inspired to want to write about it there and then. So, instead of waiting, we did the draft work immediately.
I put everything else briefly to one side and simply focussed on an idea.
It is important for me to distil everything that I am able to learn, to let it all filter through me multiple times. It is really fascinating to listen to those who have taken their own creative journeys and then integrate that knowledge into my own. The more creatives that are spoken to, the more compelling it becomes to digest the observations and experiences of others to create long term robustness.
It is also the most damning evidence I will ever be given that there is not one way to obtain success, and that 95% of the time that success can never, EVER be measured financially. Itās so depressing to watch the arts be monetised and become beholden to the commercial sector, when it should always remain a freedom of expression that is respected and nurtured, not ever exploited.
Art needs to remain as unshackled from commercial intervention as possible.
Unlocking progress really matters, but Iām also here to educate and often to resolve my own conflicts along the way. I said something out loud last night for the first time. An issue thatās existed since I started this journey may yet be on its way to finding a satisfactory resolution. Last night will be remembered for a long time as a result. Sometimes you need validation from total strangers to continue the journey. Often you just need to give yourself permission to be vulnerable.
However, the joy that you create for yourself is what always matters more.
What a positive post. So good to read.