It happens to the best of us.

One only has to look at the countless blogs, websites, photo galleries, video montages, and television shows dedicated to people messing up, doing stupid things, and best intentions turning disastrously bad to  realize that everyone fails, in some sense of the term, at some point in their existence – and our society has come d0wn with a slight obsession with watching people do so. I guess it’s fair to say that watching other people fail usually means you aren’t, or, at the very least, makes your fails seem less fail-y.

Coming off of a two week hiatus from The Artist’s Way, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to fail. To take it a step further, I’ve been thinking about what the conclusion means about me once I’ve determined whether I’ve actually failed or not. What separates failure from success? What does it mean if I’ve failed? Do I have to start over? Can I pick up where I left off? Has the entire endeavor been made less effective because of a tad of failure in the middle?

The Artist’s Way was the great endeavor of my new year. I had committed myself to taking the time and the space necessary to develop my passion, creativity, and inner artist. Yet, for the past two weeks, I haven’t read a single page from the book (despite completing five straight weeks ot readings and exercises with great success!). I haven’t blogged. I haven’t gone on a new Artist’s Date. I haven’t done any exercises or even created on my own. I’ve been in a downright creative funk. Continue reading →