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Essays
DESERTing Work for Succulent Inspiration

Arizona Saguaro Cactus © Chris Dunmire
Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona

DESERTing Work for Succulent Inspiration Posted Nov-15-2006
Filling the Well, Stocking the Pond
Before this month, the last time I boarded an airplane was in 1995 for a fun-filled week AND my first trip ever to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Last week I boarded an airplane again, but this time my destination was to experience an 1800s time warp, the historical Old West, the infamous Tombstone, Arizona.

My trip to Arizona had a three-fold purpose: to visit with family members who live in Tombstone, to completely unplug from work and enjoy some playtime (see my The Nature of Work piece), and to fill my well with creative inspiration. More about my Tombstone trip later. For now, I'll just focus on that third one: filling my well.

Filling the Well

Arizona Saguaro Cactus © Chris DunmireIf you've read Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, you'll be familiar with her discussion on "Filling the Well, Stocking the Pond" that begins on page 20. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, it's all about the artistic reservoir or "inner well" artists (of all kinds) draw upon for creative inspiration. The author likens it to a "well-stocked trout pond" filled with all sizes of fish — and an "artistic ecosystem we must maintain in order for our well not to become depleted or stagnant."

The process of restocking the pond, or filling the well, requires us to be self-nourishing and in "active pursuit of images to refresh our artistic reservoirs." We do this by feeding it new images from anything or anywhere that captivates our attention and imagination. Images can come from nature, museums, shopping malls, or pool halls. We only need to follow our inner knowing in this active pursuit, because each of us knows what inspires us more than anyone else.

Sometimes, filling the well requires more than just a few hours of soaking in new sights and experiences. It requires an extended break or vacation from the work that constantly draws upon our inner reservoirs. This is especially true for creatives who are inclined to work extra hard and long on their projects without resting or recharging enough in between to maintain balance in their lives between work and play. This pattern often leads to allowing little or no time to replenish the wells of inspiration, and soon creative ideas dry up.

For some, a vacation from work is often difficult to take because there is just "too much to do," but at the same time, it is THE best thing they can do. It is the rare creative who doesn't appreciate their renewed state of being after taking a well-deserved break from work that includes opportunities to feed on new inspiration.

Feeding on Succulent Inspiration

Over the last year I've become more conscious of the balance that exists between my work life and play life and have made necessary adjustments to keep that balance in check. I am one of those creatives who is well-endowed with conscientious-ness and can easily slip into working extra long and hard without taking vacations or significant breaks from my work. Knowing this is an area I need to pay attention to, I decided in late October to book a trip to the Arizona desert and literally DESERT my work for a week to enjoy quality time with family and breathe in new creative inspiration from the magnificent wonders of the Southwest.

I've been home for four days now and am still enjoying my refreshed state of being. My head is just swimming with all kinds of new images and experiences that didn't exist before. My trout pond has been stocked with new fish. Oh, and my work was still here when I got back, so I just picked up where I left off. It was that easy.

More about my trip to Arizona is coming soon.

© 2006 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.

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