Discovering the Completion in Every Moment
As an experienced project manager, Michelle knows all about the importance of completion.
In fact she feels such a powerful boost every time a project is successfully completed that she describes it as one of the highlights of her working life.
Finally Arrived
In these moments she grants herself a brief pause from the forward thrust of her usual focus and savours the feeling of having finally arrived.
All of the hard work, time and energy alongside the problem solving and skilful management required to reach this point leads to a depth of reward that makes it all worthwhile.
Flying Through
Of course Michelle is soon drawn back into action in order to keep the momentum going on the other projects she’s simultaneously managing.
Yet for days after a project completes, she feels like she’s “flying through” the challenges she meets as she works towards the next completion she knows is just around the corner.
Personal Dream
Encouraged by her professional success, last year Michelle finally began the process of following through on a personal dream.
She felt drawn to write a novel based on the stories that had been floating in and out of her mind for many years and approached me for guidance to explore her creative soul and find her authentic voice.
Guiding Force
Michelle’s inclination was to draw on her professional expertise and apply it to her creative writing using her love of completion as a guiding force to help her stay on track.
However, she soon discovered that direct application of her organizational skills to the creative process simply didn’t work and she struggled to write more than a few sentences at a time.
Creative Flow
In fact it was clear that she needed to let go of her controlled focus in order to free up her creative flow.
Fortunately her motivation was high so she wholeheartedly embraced the Conscious and Creative Living principles I taught her and applied them conscientiously in her life.
Significant Shifts
As her self-awareness expanded, she experienced significant shifts in her perspective based on a new appreciation of her natural gifts which she’d lost sight of during her rigorous professional training.
This finally enabled her to get out of her own way and find her creative flow; her first short story was completed a month later which she described as “the most memorable completion ever!”
Brick Wall
Michelle continued to use the Conscious Writing process to keep showing up to the page and her confidence grew steadily as each completion inspired her to keep the creative momentum going.
Yet when the time came for her to start her novel she hit a brick wall.
How would she maintain her inspiration, motivation and focus over the many months of writing that would undoubtedly be required to complete the first draft?
The Eternal Now
At this point I reminded Michelle of what was really occurring when she had the feeling of arriving that she loved so much.
The point of completion shifted her focus away from the future she was working towards and into being fully present in the eternal Now.
The Paradox
This led Michelle to discover the completion in every moment as a powerful revelation she knew she would never forget.
She felt a shift from the effort of making everything happen to the effortless flow of right action naturally unfolding in the moment.
She also felt the paradox of having “arrived” as the space out of which actions arise with the potential for both simultaneously and always being present.
Aha!
For Michelle, this was an “Aha” experience that provided the opening she needed to unlock her capacity to stay the course to complete her novel.
She’s also enjoying the process of exploring ways to apply her realization to her professional role and embody it in her personal life as a living inquiry going forwards.
How does the shift in perspective from discovering the completion in every moment influence what you think and feel about the content of your life experience(s)? Please share your comments below. Thank you!
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If you haven’t already done so, you may also like to read my previous posts related to this topic:
Enjoy!
I think of it as the Discovery Process. Once we realize that the real joy and fulfillment comes not in completion (which is worth celebrating and can be a fine moment, to be sure) but from the ongoingness of life, the discovery that can and does happen in any moment that you are alive to it … then life transforms from being about finishing to being about unfolding. I find it all the time in my writing. Those same moments of greatest fear (the breakdowns, when I have no idea of where I’m going) so often produce the greatest insights, give rise to the fresh, new, surprise that drives the next phase. Not always easy by any means, but remembering how the discovery process works and staying true to it, so often helps me in those hard times when despair comes knocking on the door (again.)
Thanks for sharing your experience of how the discovery process works Peter. I love the way you describe that “discovery can and does happen in any moment that you are alive to it” which is such a shift in perspective isn’t it.
Of course there are great rewards from finishing too… but it’s almost like they become a bonus with this view in place! May this perspective continue to see you through those moments of despair with your writing and inspire others to explore similar possibilities.
Julia, it’s a wonderful blog – a great reminder about enjoying all aspects of the creative process, particularly the present.
Thank you Catherine! Particularly the present indeed!
I have been moved by this beautiful story and find it very inspirational. As one who struggles on the creative path, I know all too well the trials of facing that brick wall.And yet I know, from experience, that I have an inner strength that will see me through. Thank you Julia for all your wisdom and support on this journey we have taken together.
Thank you Daphne; it’s always such a pleasure to read your comments. I think that most if not all of us on the creative path know the brick wall only too well!
It’s lovely to hear that your experience has brought you the confidence of knowing you have the inner strenght to see you through. That’s a profound and significant point to have reached and I’m sure it will inspire others who find themselves in similar situations. Thank you for sharing your experience, and here’s to the next phase of the journey!