The Artist's Way

considerable power. “If only he or she would just love me
...”
This obsessive thought drowns out the little voice that
suggests rearranging the living room, taking a pottery class,
trying a new top on that story that’s stymied. The minute a
creative thought raises its head, it is lopped off by the
obsession, which blocks fear and prevents risk. Going out
dancing? Redoing the whole play with an inner-city theme?
“If only he or she would love me ...” So much for West Side
Story.
Sex is the great block for many. A mesmerizing, titillating
hypnotic interest slides novel erotic possibilities in front of
the real novel. The new sex object becomes the focus for
creative approaches.
Now, note carefully that food, work, and sex are all good
in themselves. It is the abuse of them that makes them
creativity issues. Knowing yourself as an artist means
acknowledging which of these you abuse when you want to
block yourself If creativity is like a burst of the universe’s
breath through the straw that is each of us, we pinch that
straw whenever we pick up one of our blocks. We shut
down our flow. And we do it on purpose.
We begin to sense our real potential and the wide range of
possibilities open to us. That scares us. So we all reach for
blocks to slow our growth. If we are honest with ourselves,
we all know which blocks are the toxic ones for us. Clue:
this is the block we defend as our right.
Line up the possibilities. Which one makes you angry to