Returning to Creative Work After Absence
There are seasons in every creative life when the work goes quiet.
Sometimes the silence is chosen, a long exhale after giving too much.
Sometimes it’s not, and is the result of grief, burnout, life interruptions like parenting demands, illness, natural disaster, financial pressures or simply a nervous system that simply says no more right now.
For years, I mistook these absence periods as evidence of failure. I thought the muse had left, or that I had somehow fallen behind.
But over time, I’ve come to understand that interruptions, diversions, obstacles, and silences are a normal part of being alive, and the sacred rhythm of creativity does not end in those periods of silence; it only goes dormant.
The Nervous System’s Wisdom
When we lose access to our creative energy due to either internal demand or external demand, our nervous system is often protecting our creative impulse.
The freeze response, the “creative block” we dread, is sometimes a form of love.
It’s the body saying: you can’t make art from a place of emptiness, strain, insufficient survival needs or too many competing demands.
So instead of forcing our way back into productivity, we can begin by rebuilding safety and creating space.
Safety to feel, to play, to experiment without pressure in micro steps.
Safety to be creatively seen again, even if only by ourselves, in tiny gestures.
Micro-Gestures of Return
The return rarely begins with a masterpiece. It begins with something small , a whisper of interest, a flicker of desire.
You might:
Light a candle before your journal.
Sing one note out loud.
Write a single line.
Move your body for a minute, just to feel the pulse again.
Each small gesture signals to your nervous system: it’s safe to create again.
The Fertile Ground of Silence
Silence or absence from our art is not a void. It’s a kind of compost , full of unseen life, waiting for the right season.
When we approach this time with openness to be a teacher instead of an enemy, it begins to reveal what wants to grow next.
You don’t need to rush your return.
A Gentle Invitation
If you’re standing at the edge of return to your creative practice, if your creative heart feels tender, uncertain, or just ready to reawaken — I’ve created a space for that.
My half-day online retreat, Creativity and the Nervous System: A Creative Reset, is a guided invitation to thaw, to soften, and to begin again in safety and community.
Because your art is still here.
It’s just waiting for you to remember the way back.
