Hi! Welcome to the 4 CreativeWheels newsletter — your weekly dose of insights on creativity and fuel for your creative journey.

Behold, it’s Week #32! Thanks very much to you all for your support and patience! As you have noticed, I was absent for the last 6 weeks. I had to deal with some difficult health hazards. I truly could not keep working. However, I am doing better now. Now unto the good news!

We have something to celebrate—not something, but a great thing. The 4 CreativeWheels newsletter started on March 14th, 2024, and today, the date is March 14th, 2025. So, yes, it has been one year of 4CW’s existence!! Woohoo! 😎🥳
 
In this week’s issue, we will explore the challenge that comes with absence and how to deal with hesitation.

Without further ado…

Let’s start the ride!

Main Wheel

Writing this sentence was a challenge for me. This challenge started way before the making of the first sentence. Prior to its formation, there was a period of absence. This absence was not grand, yet it was poignant. It started its foundation on life and will. But this absence ended with an act of surrender, a soft act of surrender.

The surrender was born from reality. No matter how determined you are, you cannot exist in this world and not meet the unexpected. Nature walks hand-in-hand with the unexpected, the unplanned, and the unforeseen. There is no bridge outside this reality. And when you construct a fortress to shield yourself against the unexpected's ravages, it passes through the cracks. The end result is destruction.

I recently had the privilege to experience its ravages. I was on a quest. The quest was simple: To publish an issue every week this year. The first month was great. I performed as I desired. I looked forward to what I could achieve in the second month. In the enthusiasm, the seed of absence was planted. And the beginning of the challenge was created.

The seed was a little increase. It was little at the time until the unexpected played its cards and won. The little increase was in the pain I felt in my head. Months before I took the quest initiative, I had headaches. They came and went. They were mainly because of the workload I had to handle. However, it was no big deal. I could handle it.

Yet, as weeks went by, the little increase happened. The "I can handle it" situation morphed into constant migraines and headaches. I had a royal rumble inside my brain. I could not sit still and not feel my head drowned in turmoil. It was painful and I have to admit it, scary. The icing on the cake was the stress and other unforeseen events embellishing the masterpiece that was in the works. That masterpiece was my absence from the quest.

There is no need to describe my plight in more detail. All I can say is it was horrible. However, despite its end, I did not jump back on my horse to continue my quest. At first, it was understandable. It has been such a long time since I wrote something. To ride back at the speed I used to gallop, in the first attempt, was quite far-fetched.

Days went by, I still remained at the same stop. I contemplated the idea of my return. I planned it. I orchestrated the details. I hand-picked all the details just to stare at them as I kept moonwalking on the same floor. I was not making progress. Whenever I was close to returning to the race, I felt, saw, and faced a great hesitation. I wrestled with it. Still, I sat at the same stop. My will launched a retaliation without triumph, only for the triumph to originate from an act of surrender.

The act occurred when I held the hesitation's hand and placed it on a donkey. The hesitation did not want to be on a horse. It was afraid of going full speed. It did not want another plight coming. It felt safe in the familiarity that is in immobility. However, just like me, it yearned to go back on the quest. Its delightful desire was to discover what could still be done. And that is where the surrender sprang.

I surrendered to the hesitation. It was right. I might not be able to find my horse. I might not recover the speed and strength I had in the beginning. I had to accept it and hold it, hold the hesitation, and move forward.

And when I held the hesitation and placed it on a donkey, I took the steps needed for the absence to disappear. Just like that, the absence ceased to exist and my presence was recreated. What was once a challenge turned out to be just one sequence of the quest.

You and I might meet such a circumstance. You surely have met it in the past or you'll surely meet it soon. The essential is to understand that what you can control is your present and next step. After a fall, we often imagine what was. We reflect on what could have been. And we obsess over what we will not be able to do because of the fall. That rings true especially with creatives, craftspeople, and just anyone whose work is to create.

You could have been in the zone. You were going strong in the criteria and standards you desired. But then, something happens. It could be a lack of ideas. It could be fatigue or worse. The event disrupts the course you had and derails you from your train of action. As you try to recover, you look back and see the progress lost and the growth not made.

However, as my recent fall demonstrates, you need to hold the hesitation to triumph over the challenge. You get to accept that you won't recover your horse and might settle for a donkey for now.

Yes, you won't be as great as you could have been. But that is just for a moment. The hesitation is a signal to forget the last lap and the next laps and concentrate on the current lap. And that is okay as it's the first and most essential step to make. Surely, you'll find yourself farther than what you imagined.

To write the first sentence was a challenge for me. Yet, here we are. We've made long strides. And I brought back the presence I sought after. All this thanks to an act of surrender, a soft act of surrender. So, whenever you can and whenever you need to, don't overthink. Just hold the hesitation and walk forward.

Inspiring Wheels

Here are two (or more) creative works that you’ll not regret checking out:

• "you're not lazy, you just need a reason" - The Vandalist | This is a masterpiece. No comment. You just have to watch to understand and appreciate it.

• "the cycle of starting over" - jnnylo | A beautiful, reflective video on a process we all go through at some point as creatives.

Want to share this issue of 4CW with a friend, colleague,… any human being? Just copy and paste this link: https://4creativewheels.beehiiv.com/p/march-14-2025 😉 😃

Thank you so much for reading! 

As always, feel free to reply to this email & share your thoughts, stories, and any experience related to this topic. I’d love to hear them!  

C ya next Week! 

Embracing Creativity™,

Richard M.

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