Develop An Exquisite Understanding Of Your Own Timing

Timing isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.

And the great creative discipline is simply knowing what
season it is.

And that means much more than the changing of the
leaves or the melting of the snow or setting your clocks back an hour. The word
“season” actually comes from the French saison, which means, “the
right moment, the appropriate time.”

And our job as communicators, people whose work involves
creating something and then turning it loose in the world, is to develop an
exquisite understanding of our own timing.

Let’s use breathing as an example.

From a respiratory perspective, there are three possible actions.

Inhaling, exhaling and
pausing.

When we breathe in, our lungs inflate, sucking air in and pushing the ribs up and
out, forcing the diaphragm down, inhaling fresh air. This action represents the
season of inspiration. And when the air comes gusting in, it’s our duty to shit up and listen to what wants to be written.

When we breathe out,
our lungs deflate, blowing air out and pushing the ribs down and in,
pulling the diaphragm up, exhaling stale air. This action represents the season
of creation. And when the air goes swirling out, it’s our duty to honor the
flow and work until the vein is out.

When we pause, our lungs don’t really deflate or inflate,
they just sort of relax and run idle and take a brief look around until the
body decides what to do next. This action represents the season of
intermission. And when the respiration goes on hold, it’s our duty to stay
present enjoy the sacred space between.

Now, physiologically, each of these actions only lasts a few
seconds.

Unless you’re a sea turtle who can hold his breath for seven
hours.

But psychologically and emotionally and existentially, each
of these actions can last anywhere from an hour to a week to a month to a year.

It all depends on what season it is in our creative life.

And since there’s not much we can do to control that, the
best we can hope for is to hone that discipline and to creatively leverage the
right moment and the appropriate time.

Are you inhaling, exhaling or pausing?