And that is okay. Welcome to the post-pandemic world. There are numerous reasons why you may be unable to art.
There are a lot of people, writers, painters, cooks, and other artists, who have been wildly productive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some people have been capable of getting tons of work done, and really making use of the time they have had that they might not have, sans lockdown and self-quarantine.
I know many hobby-art types who have started on projects that have otherwise languished. Life, work, family, time, and other manners of various sized great and small that interfered beforehand were less, so they could art.
Yet for all of them – I also know a large number of people who have been unable to art.
For many people, the fear, uncertainty, and overall state of life, the Universe, and everything have been too overwhelming for them to do their art. They are simply not feeling it.
You may be unable to art. And I want to tell you – that’s okay.
It is okay to not be okay
For any number of reasons, many people are currently not okay.
There is a great deal of stress in the world right now. The pandemic has caused a vast number of lost jobs. Work-at-home measures that could remain permanent may or may not, because how it will all be is anybody’s guess.
Despite the attempts on the part of the government to end the stay-at-home and quarantine, the world has not returned to how it was before. And, frankly, it likely won’t.
Why? Because how it was before has passed. The past is passed, and we cannot go back, redo, or undo it. All we can do from here is move forward.
Many people have anxiety about everything. They might have to worry about what will happen with their children in the fall. Back to school, or virtual/online school? What will be safe?
But some people are just overwhelmed in general. Too much information, all the negativity, uncertainty, and fear make creativity feel unwelcome.
On top of all of these, there are also people who just can’t explain the reason. But they are unable to art. No motivation, but not a lack of motivation, either. They simply don’t feel it.
Some emotions and sensations have no names one can put to them. Since nobody else is inside your head, the only person who has any right to an explanation is YOU. And it is perfectly okay to not have one.
Maybe you are unable to art. Perhaps the reason is that you are simply not okay. Given everything happening right now – that’s not unusual. And it is okay to not be okay.
How long is it okay to not be okay?
We live in an easy access, quick fix, instant gratification society. Everyone wants it yesterday, simple, to the point, and satisfying.
It is easy to take for granted cellular phones connecting us across the globe. I could, right now, pick up my phone and call someone on the other side of the planet with little to no delay as the connection is made.
Right now, no waiting. So when things happen and take time, it doesn’t sit well with people.
For the first month of the stay-at-home self-quarantine, people were doing okay. Then, month two, many started to get antsy. Extroverts were feeling isolated and distraught while introverts were tired of sharing their isolation with extroverts.
The government – rather than encourage people in the third month to continue staying at home and flattening the curve – applauded protests of stay-at-home order “tyranny.” They began pushing to reopen – even though the experts warned them this was a poor idea.
Here we are now in month 5 watching the worst-case scenarios begin to play out. This is because it was taking too long for many people to return to any semblance of normalcy.
How long is it okay to not be okay? As long as you need it to be. Nobody can make you feel any way you do not choose to feel. The present situation in the world is unprecedented. Between COVID-19, protests of system racism and police brutality, a serious anti-science and reason backlash, and global matters, this is nothing anyone has experienced before.
If you are not okay that’s okay. However – it may be a good idea to ask some fundamental, simple questions to start moving yourself out of this.
Mindfulness when you are unable to art
When you are not okay and unable to art, one of the first ways to do anything with this is to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the awareness – in the here-and-now – of your conscious mind. Specifically, you become aware of what you are thinking, what and how you are feeling, and the intention of actions you take – or don’t.
For many people they allow their subconscious to drive them. The problem with this is that your subconscious mind has ZERO filters.
Ergo, all the information you absorb – from social media, friends, family, news, acquaintances, coworkers, your environment, and other experiences – settles in. Without any filters, it can impact your thoughts and feelings on a fundamental level.
To combat this, you can practice mindfulness. That gets your conscious mind in control.
The best way to do this is to ask these four questions to begin:
- What am I thinking?
- What am I feeling?
- How am I feeling?
- What am I doing?
Each of these questions makes you present and conscious of the now. That lets you see what’s going on inside your head.
After these simple questions, you can ask yourself slightly more complex questions:
- What is holding me back?
- Was there something that set me off?
- Is there something I can do to change this?
- Why don’t I feel like doing my art?
Literally asking these questions of yourself – and others like them – preferably aloud, will open you to consciously approaching them.
It never ceases to amaze me how easily my subconscious takes the driver’s seat. Before I know it, I am trapped in inaction – and wondering how in the hell that came to pass?
When you are unable to art, practicing mindfulness can help you figure out why – and to start up again.
Don’t be afraid to fail
I think up against the insanity that is the present, the fear of failure is much more powerful than normal.
What’s more, amid all the uncertainty and confusion, there is an extra sense of pressure that people feel to do their art – whatever it may be.
Chances are most of that pressure, though it feels external, is internal. You are probably putting the majority of that pressure on yourself.
Why? Because when you had no choice but to stay at home you felt as if the world expected you to put in more effort. Hell, even if you already worked from home, I know many people who increased rather than decreased hours. Again, there was a sense of compulsion for added productivity.
I understand how difficult it can be in the face of so much uncertainty. If you are unable to art that’s not unreasonable.
What is unreasonable might be your expectations of yourself. Mindfulness lets you get a look inside of your headspace to see what that might amount to. That, in turn, opens you to be able to get over the fear and take actions to change things so that you can art again.
You might still be unable to art – but that is okay. There are many reasons why this might be – but there are also many ways you can re-center yourself, find inspiration, and in time do your art again.
Thank you for taking part in my ongoing journey. Thank you for joining me, and for inspiring me and my art.
This is the sixty-eighth article exploring the creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
Feel free to explore the rest of the website. Also, visit Awareness for Everyone to check out my weekly podcasts.
Enjoying the website and my endeavors? I’d be grateful if you would consider becoming a patron through my Patreon.
You can subscribe to my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button below and receive your free eBook.
Follow me here!
You must be logged in to post a comment.