Useful Containers
Artist Trading Cards, 2020. Watercolour and ink on paper © Rami Schandall.
In my creative life I thrive on abundance and diversity — many projects, many lines of inquiry, many genres, many mediums. I am a gleaner, foraging for the unplanned discovery — uncovering — of interrelationships. The intersections thrill me. It is here I sense into an integrity that encompasses the whole — my own mind, body and soul, within the wholeness of this sparkling universe.
Within diversity, abundant in its differentiations, there is always a thread of commonality. At the most macro level, nothing we can perceive is outside the context of the universe, made of the same forces and elements. Yet we are differentiated beings, and we must continuously differentiate to function in life. In the microcosm of my life, I must differentiate between myself and others, between days and moments and tasks, move between them, even as lines of connection light me up. I have steps that I must take to execute any of the work I set out to do. Sometimes I have a hard time choosing, moving with the right thing for flow, the right thing for deadlines, the right thing for making a living. At this stage, where so many of my projects are long-term, durational beasts, it can become difficult to see the path, which foot to put forward next.
I recently read a passing mention of Twyla Tharp’s “box method” for creative projects. All I needed was the mention of project boxes to know this would help me. I have spaces that particular projects belong to, I have notebooks that belong to certain projects, I have piles of 3-dimensional “works in progress.” But when I have to park a project for a while, I notice a sense of panic when I return and can’t immediately find the thread. A physical box for each project creates the most basic place to hold things safely contained, retrievable, and I am finding it immensely comforting.
I know I am more allergic to external structure than most — this is not a new discovery! All is change, right? Structures are constructs (and therefore bullshit says my internal, eternal teenager). But there is a “right amount” of structure which is necessary, which frees lateral thinking, which makes my intuitive, empathic and creative brain really, really happy. Because I react against imposed structure, and have built a life practice that is highly flexible, adaptable, unpredictable and sometimes volatile, I have to keep rediscovering what is this “right amount.”
This is sadhana. In ongoing practice, every moment is different but there is a container of repetition, a container of return. In this way, practice can help us discover the steadiness that is inside movement, and the movement inside steadiness. Whether its creative practice, professional practice, or moving with ethical integrity through the world — what is the structure that supports fluidity and steadiness? What supports an ability to open and uncover new ways of being in being?
On Tuesdays at 6pm I lead a meditation practice at Mosaic Yoga Studio. We start a new 6-week session on November 14, which runs through December 19, 2023. We have been shaping a practice container together that includes somatic movement, kriya and mudra, silent sits, and mantra. I am so happy to have the opportunity to gently tend this sangha, a unique container for growth. Curious and open minds, welcome!
Sign up through me for a small discount on 5- and 6-week passes. If you have a membership or passes with Mosaic, sign up with them.
