I seem to have spent about two weeks on Week 2 of the Artist’s way… how congenial, considering last week. In week one, I uncovered one of my biggest blocks: time. The desire to do things in a specific amount of time; the failure I feel when I don’t complete tasks by an allotted time. Week two began strong, I was on track to finish my daily journals, complete my artists date, and review before starting week 3. Then… Saturday hit. I missed my morning pages. It took me until that following Wednesday to get over this little failure of mine, and to accept that I had procrastinated starting week 3 because of that one moment.
The morning pages, I have sleepily discovered, are one of the most difficult parts of the Artist’s Way for me. I struggle simply to stay awake and write three pages, even after I’ve showered and had my morning coffee. I don’t know what it is, my eyes just loathe a page that needs authoring (no wonder it takes me so long to write blog posts!). Regardless, I tried to keep in mind my realizations from the previous week—about my relationship with time and my aversion to failure—so I could keep moving forward.
Wednesday (of what would have been week 3), I decided to simply extend week 2. I would keep on with my morning pages, attend my next artists date, and do my review on Sunday. Lo and behold, it is Sunday. I have completed my artists date, written all of my morning pages, and even worked on an oil painting for the first time in months.. hallelujah (but don’t ask to see the painting unless you are prepared to be sorely disappointed.)!
Week two is coming to a close today, an entire week late, and all I can say is: good riddance! No but seriously, it was a great learning moment for me, and chance to give myself grace where I would often trip and taper off in the abyss of could have/should have.
I am still on my path, and that is all I can ask for. As for week 3, I’ve got some biggg painting plans. Let us hope that week 3 doesn’t take me 3 weeks… But in any case, I am ready to keep working and find what is in store for me in the next 10 weeks!
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