How do you get out of a rut?
I was mulling over this idea while preparing dinner last night. Stuffing a chicken might not be high on the list of “Inspiring Activities”, but there ya go.
So, I was wondering, what does one do about being in a mental, physical, creative rut? Especially if said rut is manifested as a comfy suburban home and an ‘I’m-lucky-to-be-employed’ job?
But what if, amongst all this relative abundance, you feel your creativity is being stifled by the mundane routine of daily chores ~ the ‘same old, same old’ that pays bills and gives kids the stability they need.
Is that secret dream of driving to the airport and taking the first flight with an open seat to somewhere lusciously exotic, doomed to be smothered forever under carpool schedules and unending piles of laundry?
(Ok, that last one might be just me, but you get the idea.)
And then it struck me! LIFE – like the raw chicken in my hand – is a blank slate. A basic canvas on which to splash your heart’s desires in full technicolor splendor and multi-sensory adventures.
Martha Graham ~ provocateur; eccentric; dancer extraordinaire ~ once said:
“There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.”
And I believe that the boredom, frustration and sheer predictability of daily life can be offset to a great degree by infusing YOU, your dreams, quirks, unique eccentricities, into each and everything you do.
Take my chicken, for example.
I want so desperately to travel, to immerse myself in strange cultures and distant lands, but at the moment, budgets and children take precendence over wanderlust. But for one meal, with each sumptuously delicious mouthful, that chicken can transport me to far-off shores.
I will infuse it with dreams of Paris and cafe meals at spindle-legged tables. I will satisfy my craving for creativity and challenge by following an unexplored recipe from a dusty French cookbook. I will set the table with linens, and lavender sprigs and have Edith Piaf playing softly in the background.
And when the family asks for an explanation for today’s small madness, I shall smile mysteriously and tell them I’m practicing!