AC = CP: Creative power through alternating current
When speaking of electrical transmission the initials AC stand for alternating current. The current flows in one direction, then alternates . . . and flows in the opposite direction.
In the late 1800s there was a battle between two standards, alternating current fed by the genius of Nikola Tesla, and direct current (electricity flowing only in one direction) championed by the inventive Thomas Edison.
Alternating current won the day for transmitting electricity over distance. It was cheaper in every way, and could be sent farther with smaller lines.
I used to think simplicity alone was all creative work needed. A simple schedule. Now I think more along the lines of Tesla.
I’m stretching this analogy to the crackling point, yeah, but here’s what I mean:
I strain to simplify my schedule every time it becomes crazy hectic. And then once reduced to utter simplicity for some time . . . I find myself craving more complexity. More movement. More excitement. More connections. More life.
I used to fight it. But now I give in. It’s an alternating current. It’s necessary. To energize the creative work. It’s the alternating current that goes the distance. It’s the alternating rhythm that sparks epiphanies.
A good song ramps up and ramps down. There’s the part that slowwws down enough to draw you in, and then there’s the part that leaves you breathless. Kurt Cobain was a master at it. There’s hardly a Nirvana song that doesn’t contain both frenzy and calm.
Pay attention to your own life — and look for ways to amplify your alternating rhythms. Master creators seem to know how to slide from easy to fast paced and back again, without losing stride.
The key is to segue from steady mode to revved mode as soon as you feel the need. Same for the reverse.
Fighting it, as I have, only leads to imbalance. You know what letting yourself alternate back and forth does — especially if you learn how to do it in the same day?
It sends creative juju fairies running the length of your spine. (True.) They tap dance their elven souls away on your creative chakra . . . ideas happen.
Up time. Down time. More. Less.
Let the current alternate. Let it ripple! Let it reverse course. On, off. Create, subside. Engage, slacken. Charge, retreat. Work, play.
Oh wait, this way — alternating throughout the day — work is play!
AC = CP.
For you —
Evan Griffith
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