When [insert excuse here] happens, I will have time to create.
Isn’t it annoyingly ironic when the thing you feel snobbily superior about, is the one that trips you up?
I’ve spent years with ears perked for others’ excuses to postpone creativity. “Can’t they see what they’re doing?” I’d say to myself, with mildly pompous concern. “Thank goodness I have enough self-awareness to avoid such obvious avoidance techniques.”
Pride cometh, Dawn, and it’s not bringing an extra leg to stand on…
My needlepoint adventure is on temporary hold, while I await final supplies from the East coast. In the meantime, I breezily threw open my craft closet; which new project would I boldly dive into today? Or which WIP’s would I whip into final shape? I wooed myself with smug thoughts of heroic momentum, a house of finished projects.
And I completely stalled.
“Well, I’ve got 2 young children that require constant supervision.”
“There’s hardly enough time to do the housework, let alone sit down and craft.”
“I’m too tired, and really should be resting now.”
“I’ll get to that later tonight when everyone’s asleep.”
Oh. Wow.
So, not only am I making excuses. I’m making some of the lamest, most overused excuses in the book. If I wasn’t determined to be real with you, I’d actually be too embarrassed to share these distressingly uncreative alibis here.
Because, here’s the reality:
My kids are old enough to entertain themselves for an occasional hour or two. Or if I’m really up against it, there’s always Sesame Street.
Since when has vacuuming taken precedence over meaningful, soul-feeding creativity?
Tired is the perfect excuse to settle down into a quiet craft.
By night, it’s an effort to put 2 rational sentences together, much less 2 straight stitches (notwithstanding post-11pm second winds, which are fun, but hardly sustainable). Anyway, NOT optimal creative time.
I’ve read that, very often, the things we judge people most harshly for are the things we like least in ourselves, but either can’t or won’t see. That’s about the size of it here.
We all structure excuses as a defense. Against what? That depends on the person and the situation. For me, it’s usually fear of discovering I’m not good at something (perfectionism). And time feels so precious these days that to spend it on something I don’t gel with seems like a punishable offense (Type A-ism).
So I clean toilets and fold laundry instead. (Eye rolls, please.)
Happily, I have a blog - this blog - where I can call myself out… and maybe help you do the same? What excuses have you been wielding like a battle shield? Mutual accountability is a powerful tool, creative buddies!
You know… I do have a little miniature greenhouse kit that wouldn’t require too much of a time commitment. And I can even involve the kids…
What will be YOUR first step today?
