An Imperfect Note That’s Not Edited and May Have Typos and Whatnot but It’s Fine:

Good morning,

Here’s a quote about creativity real quick because I’m preparing for my first SDW Training Session with a Spiritual Director who wants to offer similar services:

“The creative process demands a continuous letting go and moving on, a sacrifice of the present known, secure position and moving on to the unknown next. The creative unfolding of our self demands the same letting go. A beautiful analogy of this concept, is the trapeze artist creating her performance. She starts her act on one swing, a known and secure perch. To complete her act, however, she must let go of this secure position, passing through a void with no safety net. It is in the void between the two swings that her act is created. The artist must enter the void the way a word enters the blank page. Similarly, a writer must let go of the previous word or sentence and pass through a gap to reach the next word or sentence and so on until the book is complete. A composer does the same, as he lets go of the previous note and passes through a gap in order to produce the next. Neither the writer nor the composer can create the next word or next note until he has let go of the previous one and passed through a gap that is seemingly void.”

- Lawrence H Staples Ph.D.

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A question for you to ponder: How does this description of the creative process apply to the spiritual life too? And how does it help you think about connections between creativity and spirituality?

Until next time,

Charlotte

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