Just Breathe...

Image from mixed-media altered book page The past exhales, 38.8 x 19.7cm,
2010-15 © Cherry Jeffs

You've been there. You crash into the wall of overwhelm. 

​Then suddenly a voice of rebellion cries out from within, "No more!".

It happened to me the other day. 

I snapped shut my laptop. I ditched my to do list. I went and sat outside. 

I listened to the birds. I doodled a stream-of-consciousness drawing in my favourite sketchbook. I breathed.

Artist as Entrepreneur

These days as artists, we're essentially creative entrepreneurs. We're often responsible not only for showing up regularly to make our art but for promoting and selling it as well. To say nothing of keeping our skills updated in all these areas. 

It's no wonder we sometimes find ourselves running out of fuel.

So often we says to ourselves, 

"I don't have time." 

Time to meditate. 
Time to journal.  
Time to exercise. 
Time to smell the flowers. 

Time to switch off the goddam social media updates and actually pay attention to the people we're with. The moment we're in.

A dose of the blues in the little Andalucian village of Fornes where I am currently staying.

Who are we kidding?

Is there anything more important than our health and our well-being? How long will we be making our art without these?
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Ditch the Role of Super-Artist

This week I'm incredibly fortunate to have two wonderful Coach.me coaches coaching me in Mindful Meditation and keeping me accountable in my journalling practice.

Now I would have told you that I was quite competent in both these practices without any help, thank-you very much. Wrong! In less than a week I've already learned a heap of helpful techniques and ideas from both these coaches. 

You see all this, having-to-do-everything, entrepreneurial artist stuff can have us believe that we're entirely self-sufficient; that we have all the answers. 

Thanks to these coaches, this week I got reacquainted with humble. I bowed my head to my coaches' superior experience in these practices that I thought I knew so well.

Because of this coaching - and because of dedicating that time I thought I didn't have to two very important practices - I'm getting back in touch with some hidden truths about the demands I put on myself in terms of work. 

And how those demands don't necessarily lead to more productivity or more success, despite what I might imagine. 

How they might actually be damaging both of those. 

To say nothing of my health and my relationships.

So if any of this strikes a chord with you, please take a moment or, better still, a few hours to just be with yourself. Or your loved ones.

And just breathe.
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