Work in progress.

We all are a work in progress. My life has shifted literally from South Africa to Scotland. And I am settling into a new rhythm in a new house. Everything is still a little chaotic and I often I can’t find my craft materials. It’s very frustrating. I find a relaxed rhythm is important for my creative flow, activities and a calm mind. Don’t you? It’s not a good idea to make excuses for not getting on with life otherwise it becomes easy to feel like we are waiting for a better time. This could be a subtle form of procrastination.

When I was younger I believed procrastination to be a weakness and a sign of laziness but actually I find that as a creative person it is good to have a time of procrastination or what others think of as a mulling or an incubation of ideas. As we brood over the activity or creation we are sifting through many ideas for the one best idea. It’s good to have this time to explore options and possibilities. There are other reasons why one procrastinates: fear of getting it wrong, or not knowing what to do, or thinking others will scoff at us. There are also occasions where social media, like endlessly scrolling through our favorite platform, spoils our desire to be productive.

Here is a perfect example for journaling. One could ask oneself: Why do I put things off? Am I afraid, tired, lack the skills or tools, lack direction or am on social media too much. etc. This struggle with social media is referred to as “compulsive Internet use”, or “Internet addiction problematic social media use (PSMU)[6]. This is a topic I feel very strongly about as I also fall into this trap from time to time. It is a time and energy waster and eats into our creativity. I have personally found I can be mesmerized into a malaise if I am not disciplined.

Synonyms for malaise: unhappiness *restlessness *uneasiness *melancholy *depression *despondency *disquiet *trouble *anguish *listlessness *languor *weariness *enervation *doldrums *weakness *feebleness *debility
Do you find you can relate to any of these words after being on social media?

I share this piece of research literature from the National Library of Medicine:

Neurobiological risk factors for problematic social media use as a specific form of Internet addiction: A narrative review

Sergey Yu Tereshchenko¹

PSMU (problematic social media use) is a behavioral addiction associated with the uncontrolled use of social networks. It is typical mostly for modern adolescents and young adults, which are the first generations fully grown up in the era of total digitalization of society. There are currently no universally recognized and official criteria for the diagnosis of PSMU

(European research group) suggests the following definition[4]: PSMU is a persistent state of control loss when using social networks, manifested by: Violation of control over interaction with social websites (for example, in terms of time, frequency, and duration of use); predominance of time spent on social networks over other life interests and activities; negative consequences, i.e., the use of social networks leads to significant distress or deterioration in personal, family, social, educational, professional activities, or other important areas of functioning; continued or increased use of social networks, despite the negative consequences (for example, poor school performance, negative impact on health, social isolation, interpersonal conflicts, neglect of duties); duration, i.e., the use of social networks can be continuous or episodic and repetitive but manifests itself over a long period (at least 12 mo).

I don’t think it is only modern adolescents and young adults who struggle with this. Being addicted to social media can spoil your appetite for enjoying your life. Anyone can struggle with this. Remember we are a work in progress.

Getting back to Art

We might have lost enthusiasm for the project because we don’t connect with the vision. I am specifically talking about art projects.  Work in progress is also a term for a piece of art or creative craft and is abbreviated to W.I.P.  I have several W.I.P.s because I sometimes get stuck with the materials I am using. Sometimes I even stop for months or years until I find the right solution. W.I.P. might get thrown out but not often. Our lives are all a work in progress and it is very freeing to know that because is sets us free from perfectionism. Sometimes it takes ages for us to figure out how to solve personal problems.

Individuation is also a process of a work in progress. Growth is about being in progress. I am working on my next post about journaling. That is in progress too. I stopped preparing my post as I had to order a new screen for my computer. I have been working at a desk that doesn’t suit me ergonomically and now I have a sore neck. As I had to stop using the computer I swapped to working on dream journaling (drawing and painting). It also has been a work in progress for some time. I had a dream with profound meaning for me and so I created some 3D images of the characters. I couldn’t finish it before we moved from South Africa and so now I am working on  a series of 8 2D illustrated images. I have a studio but Derek is using it for his business office at the moment and so I have created a little corner for myself. It probably isn’t the most ergonomically correct space either so I try to get up and change my activities often so that I don’t get a sore neck.

This is my space at the moment.

This was my Art Studio space in South Africa.

Lastly I got my monitor this afternoon and now I can type more comfortably.

Have a great weekend.