Geri deGruy's blog of art, musings, and inspiration

A sweet woman wrote me a note, asking how I manage to create art and keep up a website and blog at the same time.  I'm laughing at myself right now for the response I sent back, telling about how I do it all!

At this very moment, I'm in lovely Vail, Colorado for the weekend. Sounds great huh?! But I'm sitting in bed with a HUGE headache. I don't want to do anything except read a novel.  Or not.

For quite some time, my overly talkative internal voice has been driving me. When you read about having a "good blog," reoccurring advice is to post every day.  Make your content fabulous. The list goes on and on.  I get daily emails from blogging blogs about how to make a good blog and the emails have piled up so high that I have no hope of ever reading them all. I can't keep up. Nor have I been able to blog every day.

As far as art goes, I find that the flow of my ideas and execution is best when I create every day for much of the day. 

And then there's the basic life stuff that needs to be done, relationships that need attention, etc.

I'm sure you see, and probably identify with this problem.  

I pressure myself to do it all, every day. But then I find myself in a lovely place with a beastly headache. I'm away from the studio, my husband is in a medical conference (the reason we're here) and I am stopped short with pain. This is a classic result for type-A  people who try to do it all every day and don't rest enough.

This has happened to me many times in my life. It seems that I don't take seriously subtle hints to rest. But pain stops me short and speaks wisdom. And here's what it says today.

-Take time for rest every day.

-Tell the pressure voice inside to cool its jets and breathe. Sometimes though I need to sit and listen to this voice and find out what is really powering it and if I need to address a deeper need or fear.

-Have at least one day a week when I don't work. At all.

-Create internal space by breathing, tuning in to the present and resting there off and on all day. I know that my best ideas come from this place. I know that I think best when my mind is at ease and without pressure.

-Play more.

So dear note writer, please forgive my first response. I can't do it all. Today I'm tired and I'm going to let it all go and rest. Thank you for helping me see this. 

                   PEACE