Writing
It seems to me that our lives are made up of habits and creativity in proportions that differ for each of us.
The habit part of us operates when we do the things we do often, like going to work, eating, driving the car, having a shower etc. It’s extremely useful to us as it avoids us thinking in depth about each of these everyday things every time we do them.
The problem is that if we aren’t really alive, awake and present in the moment, the habitual part of our life can take over and we sleepwalk through our day even when we shouldn’t.
How much of your time do you spend habitually?
The creative part of us is used when we meet something different, unexpected, shocking - or we imagine or create something new: something that didn’t exist before.
When we are in that part of our lives, we feel wide awake, lively and completely present to what is going on in every moment.
Living creatively sometimes takes us away from the shoulds and oughts of our lives. Once creativity overtakes us, more ordinary living seems very dull indeed.
Where and when do you live creatively and how much of your life is spent this way?
If most of your life is spent habitually you are sleepwalking. Continuous sleepwalking is a waste of the living life because you aren’t really present – not really around to know what is happening inside or outside yourself.
Sometimes it happens that times in our lives seem full of repetitive activities. If this is the case for you, alter your habits a little. Go to bed at a different time, get up at a different time, eat something you would never eat, speak to strangers, have your hair cut differently, check out what you think you know is so, walk a different way to the shops or to work. Don’t be habitual: live a wide awake life.