Naked Ladies and Other Wonders of the World
Creation, Vacation, and the Magic of Something from (Not) Nothing
Meet the Naked Lady Lily (Amaryllis Belladonna) with its Barbie-pink blooms emerging from a bravely naked stalk. When I received this photo evidence of Nature’s something-from-nothing magic from my parents, I thought, “Wow, that’s pretty.” But then I remembered how we waited nearly a year for this show. A year laden with hope that something would actually grow to fill that gap in the yard; concern that it could survive on a particularly windy corner; wonderment - would it fulfill the promise of the bulb package? Remarkably, this first, stunning showing does it all. It was worth the wait.
Creation is like that - sometimes it takes long dormancy periods to realize the wonder of the artistic seeds we plant. But few of us are wired for the wait. The pressure to produce in American culture takes its toll on our patience, causing us to lose faith in our slowly germinating projects in workshops and on desks, as well as in the garden. We pick up a side hustle here; pile our to-do list with more than we can realistically accomplish there.
As an achievement-tuned citizen of today’s frenetic productivity culture, I frequently find myself caught between the push of expectations and inspiration’s pull. But my creative journey refuses to be wrangled into the kind of action plan that allows me to whip through checklists. Waiting is part of the work. The hardest part, sometimes. During the naked stem phases of my journey, I have to allow myself to hold the hopes and worries and wonders all together. Maybe you do too.
How do we allow for possibility while letting go of the outcomes we can’t schedule or control? How do we do the work of productive waiting ?
Summer Slump or Something Else
This summer, I’ve been inundated with permissions from the creator blogger world to take a break, enjoy vacation, do what I love. I’ve advocated it myself. But I’ve been struck by how much of that advice is coming from people doing more, as they talk about doing less. Vacation producers delivering content from the rental house, beach, or hiking trail may assure themselves that they’re Absolutely Loving It. But their self-cheering exhortations- “Make vacation what you DO!” - runs dangerously close to creating to feed achievement expectations. It is NOT the same thing as waiting.
Sure, creative germination can happen while we’re busy blogging or podcasting or making videos for social media (spoiler: I’m not). But making and serving others, even if they’re readers or editors keeps us moving when we might be better off sitting still. Or focused inward. Or seeing the waiting for what it is - something we cannot wrangle into action.
Vacation is a thing of great privilege, and it is a slippery slope not to honor it.
And the strike of inspiration that comes while you are at rest is a gift that you have to actually rest to receive.
The poets seem to get it. Mary Oliver and Pablo Neruda harness the magic of quiet observation - they see the things so often ignored when we’re not still. Or at least, not tied up manufacturing something to say. I want dailyness that pays attention like that, whether I’m on vacation or not.
Like many creative pursuits, writing is a job with no boundaries unless we make them. And what’s magical to me, is the fact that I can actually make them. Because I have learned / am learning / will learn eventually (I’m sure of it!) to wait.
This month, I’m practicing breaking my fast a little later each day. Waiting to feel my hunger before I eat. I’m musing about newsletter topics in my morning journal pages, and waiting until ideas have more shape before I step into Substack. And I’m making time to look at what’s in my surroundings instead of my phone when I walk my dog. I can’t produce while I’m daydreaming or reading. No checklists or multi-tasking. Instead, I’m leaning in to do the hardest work.
The other day, I went to work outside, and realized just how much I have needed this slowing down and waiting for magical inspiration. I’d forgotten about a silent germination in my own garden. But - wait for it! - Nature splashed out for me anyway.
What magic!