Create More, Consume Less

My 2021 intention is to create more and to consume less. I need to remind myself of this often. And practise often too.

A lot of the time consuming is the easier and more convenient option. For me this is watching something on my laptop when I really want to be doing other things like painting, writing or making (but am just avoiding getting started), scrolling on social media or creative blogs looking at what other people have created (when I have lots I want to get out myself) - and going into the really unhelpful and unkind comparison mode (but I have given this up for lent!). And I got the insight last night that consuming is also allowing myself to be consumed by my thoughts instead of just taking some positive action and doing a tangible, physical task.

The Thich Nhat Hanh quote, “no mud, no lotus” resonates with me a lot. It’s like without some kind of effort or pain (or “labour of creation” as Patti Smith calls it) there’s no joy or satisfaction.

And I find that the more I create the less interest (and time) I have to consume anyway. Creating is an act of self-connection and a lot of the time consuming is an act of self-avoidance.

I have a sign up on the wall in my studio from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way that I’ve turned into a prayer: “May I remember that it is far harder and more painful to be a blocked artist than it is to do the work”. So true. I’ve learnt this and relearnt this time and time again! In the long run, it is far easier to create more and consume less.