Hello folks
Here is the first in a series of voice notes from a creative comrade and cheerleader. Today i talk a little on the topic of permission, and in particular permission to suck/be crap at something.
In putting together this series I have been reflecting a lot on my own practice and where I know the good and supportive ways and still come up against resistance, self doubt and all of the other things all of the time.
That is why I like the word ‘practice’ to describe just about everything. Creating anything always has this element of (and often alchemy of) suck it and see, and daring to suck.
Putting these audios together is a case in point! I’m no Krista Tippett/Jo Rogan, and there are heaps of things I love to talk about.
Because I love seeing people make their art, write their writing, craft their crafting, play their music, and create their creations.
Whatever form of making you are, or would like to, work with, I hope these audio permission slips and chatty offerings land with you well.
Head into the comments if you would like to offer your experience of insights into granting ourselves permission to follow our INKLINGS and dare to suck!
Writing to connect to body, place and season.
Writing to express ourselves.
Writing to reflect, dream and play.
Writing to hear our own wisdom and be guided.
Writing to fuel our engagement with the world.
ROOT + WRITE: A Seasonal Series begins by marking Samhain on October 26th. Held spaciously online, with offscreen avtivities incorporated, 10am - 3pm UK time. If you would like a held space to gently ROOT, WRITE, reconnect and refuel head over the link below.
Tiered pricing and payment plans are abundantly available.
NOTES + REFERENCES
Let's talk about INKLINGS… here’s a flavour of what to expect in this sharing.
The etymology of the word inkling comes from the Middle English ‘inkle’, meaning to utter in an undertone. For me, this is often how creative ideas and energy show up as quiet calls below the frantically thinking, planning, and fixing mind. There is another juicy quality to these INKLINGS, and they can be very hard to hear in a loud and attention-demanding world.
These short audios are here to offer support, permission and real talk about following our creative inklings with guidance on finding ways to help you do the things, but also how you embrace the whole process of rest, research and reflection too because these are vital parts of supporting creative life.
Permission to be rubbish at something, particularly something new, even something we know really well, is something that I have to intentionally remind myself about. We have to allow something to have its own life.
listening to the inkling,
listen to the call to do something,
to make art,
to write something,
to go to a class,
to whatever it is that we're feeling called to do.
and granting ourselves permission for it to suck, for however long it needs to suck for.
Prompt from The Artist’s Way:
If I didn't have to do it perfectly, I would try...
Ask where in your recent life you have consumed something creative—whether that's a film, reading a book, or going to an art gallery—and you have felt envy or jealousy.
We can’t avoid these kinds of feelings and they are signposts to our inklings, in secret spicey form.
Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.
- Ira Glass
References
Ira Glass - This American Life
Julia Cameron - The Artist’s Way
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