Not knowing
There is a place within creativity that is inherently risky. We feel it when we begin, we feel it when we come to a natural pause in our work, we feel it when we can't tell what our work is trying to become. Creative courage develops like muscle memory; we have to keep going to learn more about it. We need to practice and explore those edges. Doubt must be allowed to coexist with certainty, fear must be able to dance with hope as we keep going toward the idea that wants form. When old business seems to cloud the process, we are allowed to say, "Not now, I'm busy." The creative life is a courageous one, because the inner journey is just as fraught as the outer journey might be with cliffs, tangled paths, bear caves and sudden storms. We need to know what to pack for such a journey. We need to know how to read our most subtle signs within. It is good to claim our right to make mistakes in service to something we may not even understand. It helps to keep going. It help...