Getting things done takes discipline. And it isn't easy. I have to discipline myself to get things done in the yard, and to clean the house. And as much as I like to write, as good as it often feels, it takes a lot of discipline from me.
Showing up is the key to doing anything well. You can show up and write poorly. You can show up and just give the living room a lick and a prayer. But if you show up consistently it amounts to something.
I have learned this from my hooking. I have made a few thousand rugs I would guess. I have no idea really. Never counted. Each rug I make was dependent on the rugs that came before it. Some of the rugs along the way were beautiful and some were just fine. If I could see an image of each rug in the order that I made them I would see a progression. Sometimes I would go one step ahead and then two steps backs. This happens still.
I show up even when I don't feel like it. Because showing up is not about the breathe of inspiration calling you to the frame. Showing up is about commitment and love. It is also about work. I don't wait for the muse to take me by the hand.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." said Pablo Picasso. And I believe it is true. It is in working itself that ideas come. It is because I am here with the pen or the hook in hand that the muse whispers in my ear. It is because I am on my fifth or tenth bad sketch that a good sketch emerges. These are all collected there together in my book and when I need an idea I can go to it.
I am not able to go search for an idea out of thin air because I want one. It does not work for me like that. Ideas stew. They build on thoughts, experiences, things we hear, smell and see and these all blend together. Sometimes in a rug I have no idea where the idea is coming from until I am done. And then I can see it fully and it will remind me of something in my life. Sometimes I cannot see it at all and then one day I will see something or feel something in my life that reminds me of my rug.
This is when I know I am working. And that my consistent ability to show up is helping my art grow. This is true for most disciplines. Writing for me is harder but when I show up to write I feel a certain release. It is like I sat and had a cup of tea with a trusted friend. I always feel better afterward.
A lot of things are built on showing up. Friendships grow because we show up for each other, talents and skills improve, houses get cleaner, jam gets made, love gets stronger. It is such a small thing sometimes to show up, but when we do we grow and the thing we love does too.
