Cultivating a Slow Creative Practice: A Guide
Reclaiming natural rhythms with our creative practice
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Creativity is etched into my way of being. I remember spending hours upon hours drawing and writing, huddled over the kitchen table at home; or in my teenage years, spending lunch breaks during school in the art room, drawing and painting with my dear friend in silence, so content to let time slip us by, creating simply for the sheer joy of it. I miss those times when life felt abundant and open to me; where my creativity didn’t feel like something held within containers and perimeters of expectations and definitions of “success”.
Thinking back to this time, what stands out to me was the lack of pressure I put on myself to create. My creativity wasn’t swayed by restrictions and time constraints. It was an act that arose from joy and being in the present moment. We made at a pace that felt nourishing, slipping in and out of creative works until they felt complete or incomplete, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the process.
I’ve been thinking about how necessary it is to create slowly. To make against the dominant paradigm that asks us to rush; to work at the speed of light; to constantly churn out work to match the pace of how fast we consume in the post-industrialisation society. This way of working has always felt so challenging for me. The more I’ve spent time learning from the natural world; witnessing and paying attention to the natural rhythms of life, this attention has informed and inspired my way of creating.
How many more folks would enjoy the pleasure of creativity if time restraints and arduous pressures were taken away from their creative practice? I’ve even found while writing this newsletter, that I am constantly having to challenge the internal narrative and pressures I put on myself to keep up with the pace of other writers on Substack. But who is this chasing serving? Certainly not my creativity; and I like to think that if you’ve stumbled to this area of the internet, you appreciate the slower-form content.
I want to reclaim the slow way of creating.
I would like you to join me in nourishing our creative spirit, allowing for evolution, fallow periods, and moments of inspired output balanced with equal measure of rest.
Here is my guide to a slow creative practice:
Moving with the seasons
The practice I’ve leaned into the most is creating with the seasons. Just like the seasons, our creative work can go through periods of hibernation and dormancy (I’ll share more on this at the point on fallow periods) like winter; moments of planting the seeds and seeing the first sprouting fruits of our labour in spring; or go into full energetic creation mode, akin to summer. All energetics of the creative practice are welcome, no season of our creativity is deemed wrong or futile to the process, but needed to nourish our creative roots. Attuning to our inner seasons can be a wonderful guide in our creative journey, helping us navigate our creative worlds with more intention and acceptance.
Reclaim rest
Rest is such a powerful practice, and one we don’t give ourselves enough of. It’s common for our productivity to be a measure of success, and I’ve noticed with my Substack, the urge to put aside creative rest for producing to keep up with all the writing being published in this space. I describe the feeling like doggy paddling or swimming against a current. Sometimes, our creative spirit needs to know when to go with the flow.
Welcome fallow periods
Like the winter, our creativity goes through cycles. These fallow periods — or winter periods — are a time for reclaiming the empty season. Perhaps after a season of creative output, our energy feeling depleted, we need to let things be laid to rest, to sit in the stillness and darkness of the soil, until it is ready to be tended to again. Energetically, you’ll know when your creativity is in a fallow period, or if you are in a season of tending to rest rather than output. This is just as important a time as when we are creating with vigour and energy. We need the season of winter to experience the abundance of spring and summer.
Tend to the seeds of creativity.
Like a garden, we must water the seeds of our creativity. This includes building our resiliency toolkit for inner well-being. A part of this toolkit includes patience and perseverance. Things created intentionally take time. In this fast-paced world, we live in, where we need instant gratification, it can be hard to sit and trust in the creative journey of our work. But like any garden, it takes time; yet through the act of watering, little and often, we can begin to see results.
I’ll be expanding on these themes in the first Seasonal Writing Retreat happening in September! I invite you to join me in this 6-week digital retreat available for paid subscribers of this community. More information will be available soon!
JOURNAL PROMPT:
Take 10-30 minutes to journal your answer. If you feel called, share your answer in the comments section.
What season of the creative cycle are you in? How can you honour this season going forward?
EXTRA RESOURCES:
- Substack, Creative Fuel
- Substack, The Clearing
If you are new here:
Hi, I’m Hannah!
I'm a writer & creative mentor based in the UK, a regular writing contributor to the transformational learning platform, Advaya, and work within the climate space focusing on fostering resilience amongst young people. I’m also a student of Zen Buddhism, an avid reader, and a lover of the natural world.
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Seasonal Writing Retreats are digital retreats and resting spaces where we come together as a group and tend to our creativity, write, and lean into the emergence of our personal practices, rooted in care and collaboration. The first one will be happening in winter!
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