“I been feelin’ kinda strange lately.
I don’t know what’s going on, baby.
Ever since I came back from outta town,
something’s telling me some bullshit is going down…”

“Feeling kinda strange lately” has been real for me, and this relationship I have with creativity. Just when things are coasting and we’re on the up and up, one of us starts a fight.

It usually ends up with me feeling empty and unlike myself. Which makes me frustrated. Which makes me anxious. Which makes me hide under the covers*. Which makes me feel worthless. Which then makes me say aloud to no one, “WHO EVEN CARES?”

You’ve felt this too.

We try to be so stealth ninja strategic about our next move that we over think it. We feel like frauds when we don’t have any ideas. We consume so much we mute our own thoughts. We sit at the desk, go to the studio or visit a coffee shop to meet the muse and his shady behind doesn’t even bother show up.

Some days the Muse feels like he’s got better things to do and more successful people to visit. But that shouldn’t stop us from creating. (Yes, there are times when we need separation to recharge. There are also times when we stall because we let our creative muscles get wimpy. I’m talking about wimpy-ness.)

Even when it’s painful, we SHOULD create–just in an adjacent medium. If you’re a writer like me, play with paint**. If you’re a painter, play with clay. If you’re a sculptor, play with sound. So on and so forth.

You’ll be surprised at how the Muse rewards you when you relax and enjoy making for the sake of making.