Covid-19 and the Creative Mind
Just a friendly reminder that it is absolutely okay if you’re not spending this extra time in quarantine being extra productive and jumping head-first into your next creative endeavor. Really, it’s okay. Take a breath and bear with me.
Many creative types — whether writer, dancer, artist — put a fair amount of stress on themselves to keep creating apart from their day jobs. If you’re not off creating some ambitious side project, you’re wasting your time somehow, right? That’s how many of us feel. But I’m here to tell you that we all need to cut ourselves a hefty helping of slack.
Some may have been risking their necks commuting to essential jobs this whole time, some may have had a gaggle of unruly children to homeschool or other dependents to play the caregiver for, and to those people I say, “BRAVO and GOD BLESS YA.” I salute you, truly. I consider myself one of the fortunate ones: childless, no dependents, and able to work exclusively from home with a stable income. Believe me, I do not take that for granted by any means.
Due to so many global societal shifts and social changes on a scale never before seen, many of us might be experiencing far more time at home, alone with our spiraling thoughts. It seems logical to attempt to make the most of it by churning out our next masterpiece, or landscaping the entire yard, or learning how to tap dance. “Hyper-Productive Mode, ENGAGE!” If that’s what you’re currently doing, then good for you! Envision me sending all the gold stars your way. I’ll toss in a few cookies, too. Lord knows I’ve eaten too many of those during quarantine, anyway.
However, if you haven’t really put a solid creative pen to paper or brush to easel since 2020 virtually imploded, then guess what my friend… we’re in the same boat! Hop on in and grab a paddle – from a safe six feet away, of course. We are in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic, and our thoughts may be running wild in ways that are certainly not stoking the flames of creativity. In fact, our thoughts may be more along the lines of, “OMGTHEWORLDISONFIRE, RED ALERT, RED ALERT!” Perfectly normal reaction, to be honest.
If you’re anxious, sad, scared, and unable to produce more than your next puff of CO2, that is FINE, and there is no shame necessary. No need to pile undue pressure on top of an already stressful situation. Do whatever you need to in order to survive these next few (days/weeks/months/who knows what) of social distancing. Don’t feel guilty about your perceived lack of productivity. If you want to cook, cook. If you want to video chat, video chat. If you want to color, color. If you want to dance, dance. If you just want to sit on the couch binge-watching a show about all the narcissistic, backwoods, big cat owning crazies of America while crying into a tub of rocky road… well, you get the idea.
Do what you must to keep yourself sane during these times. If certain things have to take a back seat until normalcy returns, then it is what it is, and there’s no need to beat yourself up. I know my fiction-writing hobby is defunct until further notice, and I ain’t losing sleep over it. Don't get me wrong, I’m losing sleep over a lot of things these days; this just doesn't happen to be one of them.
Be smart about social distancing, but above all, be kind to yourself. We’ll get through this.
~J.B.
