January 31. March 2. March 15. April 15. July 31. December 31. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 and fiscal YE whenever that "year end" is for you.
Deadline after accounting deadline. And those are just the big ones. Then there are the monthly managerial deadlines like rent or mortgage, utilities, water & trash, day care and payroll if that's in your life, car payments, insurance payments (health, life, vision, dental, corporate, flood, fire, homeowner, you name it), Internet, cable/Netflix/TV, cell phone, et cetera ad nauseum. Then you've got the weekly housecleaning, grocery shopping and laundry duties (unless you can in-source those to a maid service) and let's not forget all the daily stuff wrapped up on top of it all. Yes, you can automate much of this, but you still need to brush your teeth twice a day even if you forget to take out the trash!
Looking at our lives from 36,000 feet, it's a dizzying merry-go-round of to-do lists, isn't it?
Now explain to me how any human being is supposed to wax creative and carve out time for the finer things in life, let alone an author whose job it is to be creative. Composing prose demands a healthy amount of mental energy and drive. Not to mention the ability to focus and freedom from interruptions.
Many writers will tell you they are often exhausted. Some will even admit that with all the distractions we have today courtesy of social media and high tech gadgets, they can barely write those beautiful long sentences anymore.
But there is a way. There is a way to shut off fully and completely all of these parasites of your creative freedoms. For me, it's music. I can have the most frustrating, mind-fragmenting, stressful, heck let's say it: infuriating day, but the instant I hit "play" on the songs in my numerous playlists, I'm transported to another reality altogether. And because I know my songs, I can choose where I want or need to go.
Of course, as with anything that heals and inspires, you have to be open to it. You have to know how to welcome it into your heart, how to listen to it. Not all songs will work for everyone, and different songs will work for different people. I've found, through hundreds and thousands of songs I've listened to throughout my life so far, the music that resonates with me: who I am, the stories I tell, and why I write. And I'm forever searching for new songs.
There is magic in music. It pours directly into the soul, bypassing all logic and reason, resonating with the deepest parts of our being, rejuvenating us, healing us, reminding us where we come from and who we truly are. Not who we think we are or have been labeled to be, but who we truly are.
More on music from me:
Roz Morris' The Undercover Soundtrack
Subscribe to my blog