It takes courage to blend creative fire with the patience of being in progress.
We have to listen deeply to what our heart is saying, and notice where inspiration is guiding us next. Feel into it. Trust it fully. Then, we need to begin to envision, dream or brainstorm possibilities. Map out steps. Choose to take action in alignment with our vision, while staying flexible to the how, when, and where to empower what we “see” to come into being – without force or expectations around the “how”.
Then comes the most essential, and challenging, part – patience of being in progress and how the timeline unfolds.
Simple, right? Well, as humans we put a lot of focus into judging the creative process, and ourselves, by how easy or challenging it will be for us to navigate and “win”. Staying patient when you have no idea when, or how, things will reach a point of change and ease is one of the most difficult, grown up, and excruciating things to navigate. It’s especially difficult with no specific, locked in finish point that confirms the success you desire, with certainty.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who’s had this experience and frustration with the creative process – especially when waiting things out is the only option.
However, at each phase of our personal life and creative process there’s space for anything to happen and change our level of “being in progress”. Obstacles. Self doubt. Delays. Other people’s needs and agendas. The pace of external systems and required guidelines. The chaos of life.
In equal measure, there is space for hope. Miracles. Joy. Positive unexpected surprises. Clear intuitive guidance and clarity. Inner peace in the chaos. Obstacles that simply melt before our eyes, or become landmarks we pass by to something better that we can’t see – yet.
In the middle of this “creative fire and progress sandwich” is our humanity, and accepting the fact that it’s key to the whole creative expression experience. It’s the factor that complicates the unfolding of our path, as well as compels us to keep going. More specifically, our humanity reveals the inner wounding and unhealed patterns that keep us from simply doing what we can in the moment, then trust we are OK – (and things will be OK) – despite what it looks and feels like right now.
The messy, dark, quiet essence you experience when things are in progress is exactly when patience is most essential to make it to the other side of the creative void. It’s also the most ego-challenging and…necessary for growth and expansion.
Balancing Creative Fire With Patience In the Everyday
Facing our own doubts and expectations, not pushing them away or trying to go around them, is hard. Yea, I said it – and I’ve tried to do it time and time again with no success.
The way our unique bag of doubts, patterns, and expectations show up can be surprising in their timing, nature and expression. It can feel like everything is all piling on us a once, while the momentum of change or relief is glacially slow.
Is there a “right” way to react in these types of complicated, challenging situations? Not really. And that’s part of what gets us hung up – thinking there’s one solution to power through in order to gain what we perceive as the upper hand.
Making the choice to align with patience can seem like a cop out to our human instincts or usual approach to life. Yet, patience is still required even when we feel it’s making everything damp, sticky and heavy like a wet blanket – putting out our creative fire and inspiration at the same time.
When we don’t know the why, or the how, what choice is left? Burn yourself out shooting energy in a million directions? Or put energy into developing a patience practice that calms the nervous system and retrains it to react with curiosity rather than adrenaline and force, to create from a place of grounding and balance?
There’s no way to know or truly see where things are heading for you BECAUSE you are deep within the progress of becoming. The act of becoming is a creative process by nature, and has ebbs and flows just like anything else. Consistently acting and creating without rest breaks or pit stops burns out the engine and tires, and takes you down roads that lead you in circles of burn out and frustration. Patience, while hard to come by and very difficult at times, is what offers us our humanity back; a chance to recenter, feel into what’s true in our heart, and logically move forward from a place of presence, not a spin out.
On a deeper level, the patience of being in process is an essential key to self understanding and creative expression. While it’s easy to view it as a wet blanket smothering progress or fun, it plays a role in empowering us, too. When we hit a roadblock we need to work around, patience is the ally we want in our corner keeping us focused on the bigger picture, not all of the dead end details that scatter our emotions and energy with no reward.
Taking Things Next Level
Together creative fire and patience balance each other out in very powerful ways. They offer a unique blend of support to help us stay focused and motivated, while offering a steady pace to navigate challenges – without continuous nervous system overload.
While it may feel unnatural or overwhelming to face at times, expressing patience while being in progress is what helps us transform into our next creative self expression more fully and deeply. Our real work is to let ourselves be OK with whatever stage we are at in our own becoming, no matter what it looks or feels like. Then, reach out for help and support when we need it without feeling like it’s a condition to “fix” or break through. It’s simply a temporary state of being that’s unpleasant that requires us to tap into more self care practices that nurture the inner self, instead of forcing or pushing against what we don’t accept.
Having patience with being in progress is our way forward into where we are being led next nturaly, rather than pushing full force into where we THINK we must go. It’s the essence of what makes creativity and the creative process a journey, rather than something to accomplish. How we stay present and express within our current circumstances IS the creative path, and it’s not a destination to reach. It’s simply the way we are able to flow with life and create through those circumstances, and being able to blend creative fire with the patience of being in progress as we go along.
Life has tons of surprises we won’t see coming, so why not use your energy to create balance and blend creative fire with the patience of being in progress to make a positive impact on your nervous system at every moment?
Interested in reading similar blog posts? Check out Balancing the Energy and Emotion of Beginnings and Endings and Connection, Flexibility and Openness Help Create the Future You Actually Want. Like podcasts? Check out mine, Flirting With Enlightenment – the podcast for tapping into your inner wisdom for self discovery, clarity and passion with purpose.