I wouldn’t call them creative blocks, but there is an ebb and flow to life, which affects creative expression. If I’m too happy, I might be too busy enjoying other activities to paint. If I’m too distracted, I want to paint, but it may not be ready yet.  The creativity is still there, but if I haven’t digested feelings of sadness, frustration or hurt, it may not be the time to express it yet.

I overcome creative blocks by giving them time.

My feelings are like brushstrokes on my life. They lay on the surface, and may call attention to themselves by their color, or the way they contrast with the rest of the painting. Other feelings, other brushstrokes come along in their time and another layer is formed. You may not see that bright orange or gray again, if it is obliterated completely. It is still there. It is still part of the whole, and informs what comes next. 

The feelings teach me lessons.  They change me in a process that continues whether I am actively creating art or not.

What might look like a standstill is not a creative block at all, but a vital part of the process. 

You can’t control everything that happens in your life, but you can decide this now. You can decide to accept whatever happens.  You can accept your loved ones with their decisions, with their uncertainties. You can accept change.  You can accept disappointment.  You can accept loss. 

Tomorrow will come with new opportunities to learn and grow. There is nothing you need to do right now. 

Just relax. Just enjoy this moment of peace. Just be. Right here, right now. 

Love without needing to control. Accept without needing to fix. Relax without needing to understand. 

There are things you won’t get the answers to. Things you don’t need the answers to. 

Just relax in this tangled nest of mystery.  Enjoy the gift of wonder and possibility. Not all questions are answerable. Not all answers are permanent. 

Truth will come to you in its time. Understanding will dawn on you when you are ready. 

And in the meantime, rest in the understanding that you are exactly where you should be. You are exactly who you should be. 

The truth is the truth. You don’t need to understand it. You don’t need to control it. 

You need to care for yourself. You need this not only for yourself, but so you have something to offer to others. You can’t give from an empty container. So be generous, and fill yourself with strength. With light. With conviction. With love.

Doors. 5″x7″, mixed media on paper. 2021

Over the past 21 years, Flash Meridian has been described as a hero, a superhero and an action figure. For a long time, I believed it. Those are natural descriptions for a futuristic astronaut, hurtling through uncharted space and encountering alien beings.

That is, until a 14 year old pointed out that Flash Meridian doesn’t DO anything!

He fixes broken equipment, and hikes distant planets at times, but he mostly sits in his spaceship sipping lattes and thinking deep thoughts about his life, the universe, and his place in it. Kind of like me.

He doesn’t really fight villains. He doesn’t possess any unusual strength or have any notable abilities.

I’m in the process of producing the complete audiobook. Friends who have listened to parts of it have not described it as thrilling, but rather darling, and have said that it helped them fall asleep. But in a good way.

I’m not offended.

I’ve described this as introspective.

When I used to do late night radio shows, listeners called in saying that my voice was relaxing. The music I played was melancholy. One listener even said my music was morbid. Ok. I just think it’s beautiful.

I’ve written guided imagery meditations specifically with relaxation and sleep as the goal. I fall asleep to the sound of my own voice every night.

This is what I do. I subvert a genre. It’s similar to the way I present the world in my paintings. You might think you’re looking at majestic old growth pines, only to later notice the fish swimming in the treetops.

I accept that my story is not the action adventure you might expect. It just happens to be set in outer space.

It comes out of me, with the themes and flavor that flow through me. That’s not unexpected. If it helps you fall asleep, it’s served a purpose. If it makes you think differently about life and death, it’s served a purpose. If it entertains you, it’s served a purpose. If it inspires you to express something that you find flowing through you, it’s served a purpose.