Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. ~ Victor Hugo
I woke the other morning, and saw that 
the rich gold of autumn leaves was dimmed by a thin layer of fog, a not unusual occurrence here in the Catskills.
Because I live in the back of beyond, driving in a fog at night can be a real challenge. There is nothing so dark as an overcast night in the country where houses are stretched out over miles instead of blocks, the infrequent car is going the other way, and visibility is down to 20 feet or less.
Ever had that experience? That feeling of alienation and hand-clenching stress? Time slows. Distances seem to stretch like taffy. And you wonder if you’ve accidentally driven off into a new episode of the Twilight Zone.
You’re not lost, because when you hit the fog, you knew where you were going and you do, really, know where you are, even if in the halos made by the car lights and the narrow field of vision make everything look suddenly distorted and unfamiliar.
Ever had this experience with your book or other creative project, or even your career?
As a writer and a creative entrepreneur, this is not an uncommon experience for me, but because of where I live, I’ve had plenty of opportunity in the physical fog to learn what to do in my creative fog.
- Slow down! Sometimes, in a creative heat, words pile upon words. You’re speeding along, eating up the miles and suddenly…fog. If you don’t slow down, you run the risk of crashing. When this happens, it’s a good idea to take a deep breath and slow down. But don’t stop, either. Someone could ram into you from behind.
- Dim your lights. I know this seems counter-intuitive. When visibility is diminished, instinct says to brighten the lights to pierce the gloom. In normal darkness, this would work, but in a fog, all those droplets of water act like mirrors, reflecting back light and making the fog appear even more dense. If you want to increase visibility in the fog, you have to be willing to dim the lights, to release the desire to see farther and more clearly. You have to be willing to allow things to get fuzzy for a while, to only focus on what is just in front of you instead of further down the road.
- Keep your eyes on the road not on the shadows. Because of the nature of fog, shadows can take on a 3-dimensional nature, distorting reality and perspective. If you take your eyes off your road to focus on those shadows, you’ll run off the road or not see other hazards coming up. Your fears about your work can turn shadows into 3-dimensional monsters, throwing you off your path and bringing you to a crashing halt. Another reason, too, for dimming your lights. Those shadows won’t appear so large and intimidating.
Making it safely home, moving through the fog to reach the end of your creative journey requires patience, presence and faith that you can and will get home…
Keep the image of your goal firmly in the forefront of your mind and just keep going. Don’t stop.
When was the last time you were in a creative fog? What did you do?