What is the perfect way to stop a woman from creating?

Have you cleaned your whole house before you sat down to create? Hard to concentrate when there are dishes in the sink? You want to create, but there is not enough time in the day. You might find a few minutes on Saturday, if you are lucky. There are too many things you think you should be doing, and creating is not on your list of shoulds.

 

There are no dishes in my sink this morning, but I haven’t cleaned the seven litter boxes yet, and there is laundry to be done, but not mine. The basement is full of clutter, and boxes of books to be sorted, but I am leaving the mess so I can create, write, and paint.

There are things I think I should be doing, but I am working on letting other family members be responsible for their own laundry, and let them take care of things they should be responsible for. The litter boxes will get cleaned after I write. Let the dust fit into the stolen moments of the day. And no matter how many times I sweep the stairs, there is always dog hair on the staircase from the Golden Retriever who constantly sheds, and the six cats.

(Note: when the breeder asks you, “Can you handle a dog who sheds.” Be prepared for a lot of hair.)

I found this quote by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Here is the whole quote from her book,  Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. I haven’t read the book, but I want to now. I love this quote. Well, I really like it. 

“Art is not meant to be created in stolen moments only” — Clarissa Pinkola Estés

“I’ve seen women insist on cleaning everything in the house before they could sit down to write… and you know it’s a funny thing about housecleaning… it never comes to an end. Perfect way to stop a woman. A woman must be careful to not allow over-responsibility (or over-respectabilty) to steal her necessary creative rests, riffs, and raptures. She simply must put her foot down and say no to half of what she believes she “should” be doing. Art is not meant to be created in stolen moments only.” —  Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

Maybe men have this problem too. Cleaning the whole house before writing, or being overly responsible for other people. I don’t know, I am not a man. I am just me. I know I have a hard time making time to create.

Right now, I block out several hours in the day to write. And that helps.

Be kind to yourself.

Find time to create.

Or.

Make time to create.

What’s in your sink?

Do you think women are overly-responsible for other people? Do you agree with Clarissa Pinkola Estés?

xo
Pamela