slowly moving ahead
d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ nothing : the creative gardener : will you rest a while?
I’m Tuğba, a Turkish-Greek Artist living in Berlin - as slow as possible is a newsletter exploring the in-between spaces of our lives that we see but often do not notice. Interested in reading more of my work? Consider subscribing:
I constantly find myself returning to a particular thought and feeling. Despite days and months passing, I always find myself returning to the same contemplative state. It feels as though I am fixated and consumed by it. I envision my inner world as a beautiful garden with flowers and trees, yet it also contains weeds and thorns.
The garden is brimming with an array of emotions, thoughts, experiences, and painful moments. It’s a place where I can leisurely wander while discovering, admiring, and inhaling the scents around me. I take my time to observe, absorb, and truly see. It’s a secret garden just for me.
The truth is, I often find it difficult to access my inner garden, even though it is essential for my creativity. It is the foundation for my artistic work. Creativity involves reusing ideas, thoughts, and experiences to create something unique by finding new ways to express them. Everything we love and every experience we have shapes us and contributes to filling our inner garden.
Our secret garden is deeply hidden in our unconscious mind and to access it, we need time and space for our minds to wander and find our way into it.
I’ve noticed that I constantly seek stimulation, which leaves my brain increasingly disengaged and running on autopilot. My mind and body are not connected. Even during my breaks, I reach for my phone and fill my mind with more clutter. It has become difficult to let my mind simply wander and daydream. I realise that boredom is a luxury in today’s lifestyle and it takes discipline to resist the constant urge to consume more and more.
When a creative artist is fatigued, it is often from too much inflow, not too much outflow — Julia Cameron
This huge mental burden clutters our minds, even when we try to be conscious about what we’re feeding them—we’re still feeding them without taking time to make sense of this mental load. We hardly ever take the time to explore and enjoy our secret garden.
After returning from a six-day silent meditation retreat, I once again realised how valuable it is to disconnect from the world’s constant busyness. Excessive media consumption hinders my creativity! Embracing moments of boredom is essential, as is carving out time for ourselves away from the continuous flow of news, emails, and social updates. Not consuming allows us to be truly present and reconnect with ourselves without distractions from the external world.
I’ve noticed that my best ideas always bubble up when the outside world fails in its primary job of frightening, wounding or entertaining me - Scott Adams
Boredom is a state of mind that we should actively seek out. Our minds need to wander, and when boredom sets in, our minds are desperately looking for something to keep us entertained. This is when we have the time to access our secret garden, a place where we can explore and where our creativity flourishes.
After the retreat, I filled pages and pages with new ideas. I’m again trying to consume less, while I rest and create more. I know there will be times when I get carried away again, as it’s extremely hard in the world we’re living in! It’s a lifelong process of gently reminding ourselves that life is about balance. If we feel off balance, we must attempt to adjust things in our daily lives to find that balance again. So, if you feel blocked, stuck, overwhelmed and not creative, maybe it's time to unplug.
Boredom’s languid time is considered crucial for developing “internal stimulus” — the gateway to creativity - Sara Genn
I would love to hear how you intentionally introduce more moments of boredom into your life. Do you actively carve out time in your day to disconnect and let your mind wander?
Take care!
Your friend Tuğba
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As always, very thoughtful Tugba, but I worry that there is too little in terms of action and social engagement emerging from too much inner contemplation? Just a thought.
Es wäre echt nett dich in Berlin zu treffen, danke. Halte die Ohren steif ! Vielleicht klappt zuvor ein zoom Treffen, wie auch immer, freue mich !