Yet another Sunday came where, while I prepared to go to work, I decided instead to take the day off. It’s one great thing about being self-employed. I don’t want to work today? I don’t work today! Of course, the down side to that is I also don’t get paid today.
The moment called for effort to be made on behalf of breakfast, so I fried up some eggs and nuked some bacon and French-pressed some coffee, and it was wonderful. And then I sat down at the computer, played on Facebook for a while, and I decided that some blogging needed to get done.
And it did.
By then it was time for lunch, and I emptied the last of a bag of Perdue Crispy Chicken Strips, which I highly recommend for flavor only, because, nutritionally, I’m sure they’re crap. As I pulled the bag out of the freezer I also decided to pull out the last of the big, thick, expensive (for my budget) rib steaks I had bought back in January. Those would make great lunch items for the coming week! I set them on paper plates to thaw on top of the stove.
I went back to the computer, played some more on Facebook, and I think I blogged some more. Then I did something I haven’t done in far too long: I uncovered the midi keyboard and plugged it in to the computer, fired up Garage Band, and started messing around.
As I’ve mentioned in this blog in the past, I like to fart around by mainly tickling the keys, and if I hear a sound that’s interesting to me, I’ll explore it. If it takes me anywhere, then I’ll record a track in Garage Band, and keep it for posterity, or better, I’ll get truly inspired and make a grand production of it.
And so it was. I heard it, and I started playing with it, and it began to grow legs! The wonderful, amazing, astonishing thing about a truly creative process, no matter how truly talented you are — and, musically, I ain’t that talented — is how time disappears from your consciousness. I think I’ve babbled about that, here, too — the Flow State.
When you’re in flow, you are completely absorbed in the project at hand. Bodily functions seem suspended, as bathroom urges, muscle stiffness from sitting nearly motionless, and eye fatigue don’t interrupt your effort. And time flies. Quickly! When I pulled out the keyboard, it was around 3:00pm. Doubtful that I would hear anything I liked from my own fingers, I figured I’d play for about an hour, and then go watch one of my Netflix selections. However, when I figured I had reached the peak of my musical ability versus the difficulty of the musical dalliance I had created, I looked at the clock: 10:38. ZOINKS! I never even had dinner!
I had a 4:00am Monday morning pickup, so I had to get to bed! I quickly put away the keyboard, shut down Garage Band, and hit the sack.
Monday morning I was up at 2:30. I showered and shaved, and I saw that I had just enough time for a bowl of cereal before I had to leave. I walked to the kitchen, turned on the light... and I was reminded of my dinner plans of the prior evening, not to mention lunches for the coming week. There on top of the stove sat two formerly beautiful rib steaks, long since thawed, and now mostly dried out, ruined, and a waste of about $15.
Who knew that individual creativity could be so damned expensive?
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3 comments:
It happens to the best of us. What you call in the flow - I call being in the zone. When I get busy doing flowers that's what happens - everything else is zoned out.
Ah, the artistic process. When it hits you, it's as if the rest of the world doesn't exist.
Well worth the lost steaks, I figure. I'm not musically inclined, but substitute "writing" or "photography" and this could very well have been me!
Nice article, thanks for the information.
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