Celebrate Summer Solstice this week! This is the half-way point on your creative journey. This is the time to congratulate yourself on your perseverance. You have been devoted to your craft. You have taken it all the way to this moment. Now let’s have some fun with our work.
The first crack at a creative project can sometimes feel like a challenge. It is often hard to sit down at the easel or the desk and commit yourself to the creative endeavor. If you sat down with carefree joy every time you took up the pen or the brush or the conductor’s baton, then you would firmly be within the realm of hobby, as opposed to artistic creation. You would not be pushing boundaries. You would not be wrestling with your subconscious, trying to divine just where to go next. I get it. I have been there. Just take a moment to relax into the reality that your artistic project is seeing the light of day. You have worked hard. All the various strands of thought will coalesce, for you have already established a track record for yourself. Do something today to congratulate yourself. Take a walk. Get on the phone and chat with an old friend. Eat ice cream.
Sometimes, when we are in the thick of it, it seems easier to be critical of our own work. If we rush to criticize ourselves, then we beat our inner critic at it. We don’t have to be vulnerable. It is an act of courage to claim that you like what you are creating, that you value the progress you’re making. Lean into these words – you are worth it. Recall why you began this journey. What was the germ of the idea that captured your imagination? Quickly scan your work right now, without a critical eye, and search out aspects of your project — whether painting, writing, or landscape design — that you really love. Write down a quick paragraph about what you cherish about your work. Now go outside and take a congratulatory stroll around the neighborhood. Connect with nature in some small but significant way. You’ve earned it – relish in the satisfaction of knowing, that even with this first stab at your artistic project, you are creating something of value. This is something that the world wants to see, something that you can hold at arm’s length and admire. Appreciate your effort.
I learned a valuable lesson working in film. Within the theatrical arts, there is the vaunted notion of a wrap party. This is a way to congratulate everyone involved in the process, once all the work is done. But the wrap party may not be as valuable as a party held in observance of the half-way mark. This is where attention seems to lag, where inspiration runs short, where the goal post signaling the end of production seems distant. The half-way mark celebration is a way to honor everyone’s commitment to the project and to reinvigorate the collective imagination.
Throw an impromptu party for either just yourself or for others who have helped along the way. Just bask in the sun at its zenith now and welcome its rays into your heart. You can rely upon this moment of self-congratulation in the months ahead. Allow it to generate good will and act as a touchstone for why you started on this journey in the first place. Enjoy!
