Cycling Your Creative Power

Traveling for me is a form of brain reset.

We have a UVerse Unit in our house, which controls my internet and television that periodically needs to be ‘cycled’ in order to move at optimal performance speeds.

The unit will do quite well for several weeks, and then suddenly simple tasks will take longer and longer - until finally the unit will have slowed to about 3% efficiency - and then I will start pulling my hair out.

The only thing to do when this happens is to turn the unit off, let it rest a few minutes, and then turn it back on. Whammo! Suddenly it is blazing, working like new.

My creative engine works much the same way. I have unique talents and creative fires that must be frequently stoked in order to work at peak efficiency.

Though not exactly a writer, words are very important to me and I express myself quite often through this medium. I am also not a visual artist (I am very poor at drawing) but I see images in my mind, often think of items in terms of color, and enjoy painting and still photography. I am not a professional musician, but am adept enough o play 2 brass instruments, 3 stringed instruments and am a reasonably gifted singer. While not exactly a filmmaker, I do have two degrees in mass communication, and often use film and video for greater clarity in storytelling. I am not a professional orator, but have spent many years as a Pulpit Minister and even did a stint as a high school speech teacher. Not a Thespian by trade, I have acted in many plays and musicals and even managed a professional drama troupe for many years.

I am a creative. I help people tell their unique stories using a variety of mediums. I suppose that if I was more gifted in only one specific area, I would have a much greater leaning toward using that specific area. As it is, I approach each problem with a clean slate, picking from the many ‘brushes’ by my easel to help my clients tell their story more accurately and clearly.

But the reality is, I have a continual hourglass that is ticking down. And if I get too swallowed up by the inevitable mundane details (however necessary they may be) of running a business and leading a family I have to cycle the power. The primary way I do this is travel.