The Power of One

Solstice Art Quilt 21” X 21” in Solid Maple Floater Frame

If you have kids, even if they are grown, I want you to consider how much you can get done when you are by yourself. I used to joke that if I had an hour to myself when they were little, I could build a shed and then reshingle the roof. The reality was that I could do so much in an hour alone that I came to appreciate that hour and craved solitary time.

Now my kids are in their thirties. I have all the alone time I want and I appreciate it just as much as I did back then. I can immerse myself in any activity I want and soak in the solitude. I think I craved it way back then because it allowed me to just stop having to move, think, answer questions or get something for somebody. Now, I both crave and appreciate it because I can move, think, answer my own questions and create something that makes me happy. It’s seems selfish but, I know that once I’ve had my solitude, I’m much happier being in the company of anyone I come in contact with.

As an artist, (and author), I believe that time to ruminate on your own ideas and look at your work without the pressure of time or deadlines pushes me to do the best work that I possibly can. I have been carving out this time for over 30 years now. But, I had to prioritize it and I had to let go of some stuff.

If you want to be a more creative person, artist, author, or craft master what would it take for you to get the time to make it happen? There’s a rumor that mastery takes 10,000 hours - I’m not sure if it’s true but, I will agree that the more time I spend in my studio the better my work becomes. What would you need to let go of in order to make room for what you want in your life? Here’s a few things that I dropped in order to get solitude - watching reruns of anything on TV, social engagements with people who didn’t genuinely care about me or interest me in a way that I wanted to get to know them better and commitments that I felt guilted into (that’s never good energy). I totally curated what I used as entertainment by eliminating violence and graphic blood/medical stuff. I miss none of these things and now it’s a life habit. When I hear the guilt in an offer that will suck up my time, I politely decline.

If any of this resonates with you, I have an inexpensive Creative Kickstart program that you can read about HERE. If you have the clarity and ambition, you can do this alone. I’ve done it both ways and admittedly, having a support was hugely beneficial. But, now that I have had assistance, I am moving forward steadily and have a lot more clarity with my creative time.

It’s early in the year, if you make resolutions that’s cool. I don’t think we need to wait for a new year to make them. I do think that when you decide you want to change something in your life out and replace it with something better, there’s no reason to wait for a specific date. The day you have the realization is probably the best day to make the resolution too.

So if you get a minute or two to yourself, I hope you will use the solitude to evaluate what is working well for you and then come up with some ideas about how you can eliminate or reduce the things that are keeping you from having what you want. It requires solitude and it is a super power - but it’s comes from you alone - one.

Influenced by Positivity

If Not Now…When?