quiet

when things are quiet, encaustic and mixed media, 6×6 inches

I used to get nervous when things got quiet and calm. I had gotten used to chaos and craziness and rush, rush, rush. So when things got quiet, I would get a sinking feeling in my stomach with the thought of oh boy, what’s coming now? Or I would find ways to make things not calm and not quiet just because that was what I was used to.

But now…I welcome the calm and quiet. Sometimes old patterns of behavior can rear its ugly head, but for the most part I am content with peace. Or at least I try to be. When I think back to how I came upon this path of creativity that I am on now, I see how certain life changes and decisions forced me to be still…or rather, less involved with running around doing all the things that I had been involved in. Less distraction led me to get back to my creativity. Otherwise there were so many other things I could have been doing at the time. I am so grateful, now, that I had been forced to be alone with myself and my thoughts. I wasn’t grateful then. But what a gift it has been and still is.

In terms of quiet and creativity- I think that for me, I need that moment of stillness in order to create. To hear what is stirring within me. It is so very important to be active and engage with the outside world, but I also need for things to be quiet. To listen. To hear.

“I learned… that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic, striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.” ~ Brenda Ueland