Who would have thought that the knee is connected to the creative part of the brain? Seriously. I had a knee replacement on March 6th. Stopped taking narcotic pain relievers about 12 days in. Stuck with ½ a pill at bedtime for another couple of weeks. But otherwise was drug-free. So, what the heck was my issue? Where did my Mojo go? I couldn’t even think about sitting at the desk, or on the sofa, or even in bed to write. Just could not go there. It was like there was a complete disconnect to my creativity. I had such grand plans for my recovery. I would get SO much done! I would do a digital purge (of my over 50,000 emails), my thousands of photos and all of the files I no longer needed. Well, that didn’t happen either. Neither did my embroidering in the evenings during tv time. I found my ability to concentrate drastically diminished. Two and a half months out and I’m finally feeling it again. My elusive Mojo. Bad news is, I’m getting my right knee done second week of June. At least this time I am under no delusion that I will be crazy productive and/or creative. If it happens, I will be delightedly surprised. If it doesn’t, I know this is part of the healing process.
And how, do you ask, does this relate to me and my creativity? Well, we all are healing at one level or another throughout our lives. And it’s essential that we go easy on ourselves for being less than stellar in our productivity. The knee IS connected to our creativity! So are our hearts, our mindset, our…everything. Yes, you can force yourself to sit at the computer, or the quilting machine, or your embroidery hoop. But what will result will most likely not be your best work. Give yourself time to heal. From whatever ails you. Physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. This too shall pass. Come back to your work refreshed, replenished, invigorated.