In the new age community, abundance is a common theme. Many are looking to increase their wealth and so they tap into these new age modalities to increase abundance. More often than not, this refers to money, but it can also include other things like time, patience, etc. What I’ve noticed one the past year, as I have had an increase in abundance in both creative inspiration and time, is that I need an appropriate system to capture the flow. I wish creative inspiration was like a steady flow, but as I have found, it seems to be more like a raging river. The last part of 2020 seemed to be an experiment in how to set up little buckets to capture the flow and figure out how to utilize those buckets for a day when things are a bit more dry. I thought I would share some of that experience with you in case you find it helpful. 

This picture above is me when inspiration hits. 

I first heard of this idea of abundance as a river from the astrologer Chani Nicholas. She said that abundance flows to us like a stream of water so we need to learn how to use buckets to catch it or it will flow past us. I struggle greatly with object impermanence which means if I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist. I found that many of my ideas would disappear before I had a chance to capture them. The challenge with that is when I found myself with an abundance of time, I didn’t have the creativity and when I had an abundance of inspiration, I didn’t seem to have the time. So how could I figure out how to work within those confines?

The power of a notebook.

Many of you organized people are rolling your eyes and thinking, duh, but for me, this was revolutionary. Write it down. The challenge for me; I had to write it down somewhere I could see it and somewhere that I could find it. I have a million notebooks throughout the house but I either forgot about them or couldn’t find them when I need them. Writing down a note and then losing it is just like not writing it down.

Solution, my planner.

I bought a planner that was small enough to fit into my purse and had a large section for notes. In the daily pages, there are notes AND in the back of the planner, there are blank pages for notes. Because this was my calendar, it also became my notebook, and I haven’t lost it since.

How do I use it?

In my daily notes page, I write down any idea I have. As I review that page, if the idea is actually something I want to explore deeper, I will add it to a list in the back of my planner. I have a list for Reels ideas, blog post ideas, self portraits, artists I want to explore, places I want to travel, etc. I have a list of things I enjoy doing when I have down time which I will talk about later. I make lists for everything. This is the best way I have found to channel the flow of ideas I have and be able to return to them later. Each person operates differently, so I think taking the time to explore which system works for you is going to be the key to success. A lot of people use their phone. I hate typing on my phone and so, that system didn’t work for me. I prefer carrying around my planner and being able to write it down when it hits me. There are all kinds of apps, calendars, notebooks, etc for this type of stuff so I suggest exploring what feels best to you.

What does it feel like?

Creativity can sometimes feel like anxiety to me. I get a rush of ideas and I feel anxious that I’m going to lose them if I don’t act quickly. That is why I have learned to write it all down, because the planner is my bucket.

Time Abundance

Boredom gives me anxiety. Though I spend most of time chasing the feeling of freedom, true freedom can sometimes be overwhelming. As someone who is stimulation seeking, lack of stimuli gives me anxiety. In the past, I spent much of time doing stuff that was trivial because I was bored. 

Disordered eating: much of my disordered eating was a way to distract myself from the fear of boredom. 

Gossiping and being critical of others: something to fill time

Shopping: something to fill time

I have no official diagnosis of ADHD but I do know that the things listed above are ways to stimulate ourselves. Once I realized that those outlets were unhealthy and a way to escape being with myself, I have been confronted repeatedly by an abundance of time and how to be with it. I don’t know that they answer is always be still for me, as I have a lot of nervous energy. The answer definitely isn’t to fill my time with meaningless tasks so that I never have to sit still. The answer lies somewhere in the middle. 

I have a running list of things I can do when I feel bored:

Watercolor or acrylic painting

photo editing (because I have years of photos that I could cull and edit)

bake bread

learn a new skill like copic markers or procreate

when I feel that feeling of being overwhelmed by time, I consult my list and see what feels good to me.

A Routine

I am absolutely the worst when it comes to routine yet it is the key to my sanity. I combat much of that anxiety with routine and structure. Having a thing I do each morning, a cleaning routine, a school schedule are all ways that I deal with the anxiety around time and how to fill it. 

This may be something that doesn’t resonate with you because you are already organized. 

I think why this has been so revolutionary for me is because, up until recently, I’ve never even had the time to be bored. Before Covid, I spent much of my time, filling my days with tasks so that I never had to be bored. A gift from this time at home has been having to face myself and the fear I have of being with myself. As I sit in the discomfort, I am learning that I have so much creativity within me that can be harnessed, I just have to set my life up so that I can harness it. And what a gift it has been.