A Tree in my Tracks: My Small Adventures with Nature Continue

If a tree falls in the forest.....

This morning, we awoke to a loud cracking noise. Or at least we would have had we not been sleeping with earplugs. But a tall tree had fallen across our narrow one lane drive to our annexed little street. This was a result of the high winds and rain we experienced throughout the night and into the morning. I am beginning to think that this blog is more about my reporting the tiny and not harmful natural disasters I have come in contact with as opposed to nurturing creativity! Last time a flood and this time a tree! 

The thankful news is that it did not fall on any home, car or person. It just blocked us all from getting to our respective places of work in a timely manner. Yes, sometimes roadblocks to creativity come in the form of something that actually blocks a road. It is amazing to me how life happens like this. Sometimes I am fighting the blocks in my head and other times, synchronistically, it literally just straight up happens in the real world. 

These things remind me that I am not in control. No matter the fact that I set my alarm and had a specific plan for the day, when I awoke there was something else demanding to be done. 

As of right now, multiple parts of my town are getting flooded. Though my home and work are safe, I am not in a place of taking it for granted right now, but instead am very grateful that nothing more severe has yet occurred at our home and no floods have overtaken the studio again. Some others are not so lucky right now and having lived through some hurricanes during my childhood, I definitely empathize with those dealing with the more severe results of nature right now and my hope is that everyone is kept safe through this storm and is able to get out of harms way. 

This is the base of the tree, where it may have been struck with lightning, but where it definitely cracked.

This is me, helping the effort to get as much of the tree cleared away as possible.

These moments, small and big, when we realize we are not in control help put in perspective those internal battles we face when seeking out the ways in which we want to bring our art into our lives and into the world. In fact, right after this happened, I stopped in at one of my favorite coffee shops (feeling that using an ax had definitely earned me a cookie) only to end up in conversation with a friend who works there about his own roadblocks in his creativity and his personal dreams. 

Everybody is out there with a dream and an art to nurture for themselves and to offer to the world. Sometimes it is the stuff in our head like fear and anxiety or the practical things like creating a website or time or money that get in our way. Sometimes, I guess, it could be a tree. Whatever it is, it is worth the battle. Most of us will battle this junk our whole lives.

In fact, I suppose I write about creative blocks and battles so that I can fight them myself and tell others that they are not alone. Like my coffee shop friend, he is not alone. Like you, you are not alone. You are not the only one who has feared picking up the ax and making your way through the barricades of your own mind or circumstances. 

For those of you who don't know me personally, but perhaps only through this blog, I will be rather blunt with you about myself... I can be a real mess. It's true. I have made some mistakes; some bumbling and unintentional and some it seems I walked right into with eyes wide open. I have let failure get the better of me more than once. I have been blocked and downtrodden and overcome with negativity a time or two in my life and I suppose I will battle it again.

A friend of mine recently reminded me ever-so-gently, that stepping out is a brave choice. When I regret the stepping out, fighting with my human inclination for safety and comfort, I try to remember these words. I'm just being brave. Choosing to live in the adventure of a creative life is not without its stressors or battles, but it is full of a certain taste of sweetness and joy that I simply couldn't trade. I hope this brings you hope and encouragement and the knowledge that you are not alone in this creative journey. 

Make your art. Live alive. 

Warmest Regards on this stormy evening, 
Court


p.s. You can pre-order your copy of Art Nurture: The Simple Guide to Cultivating Your Creativity on the homepage! It will be coming this Spring!