Creative Uncertainty
At the end of Act II in Thornton Wilder’s iconic play, “Our Town,” the character Louella Soames says, “Happiness, that’s the great thing! The most important thing is to be happy.” I am familiar with this line because I played Mrs. Soames in a community theatre production of “Our Town”. The play ran during the fall, which, as you well know, is the time of year when the usual seasonal uncertainty of the Congressional legislative schedule looms large. However, it was also an election year, which meant it was a time of compounded uncertainty on the Hill.
To paraphrase another line in from the play, it was a time on the Hill when life was awful – and wonderful. Having lived through this situation before, I knew that simply surviving the double-trouble uncertainty was not enough for me. It’s human nature to want to survive. I wanted more, and I was not going to let situations beyond my control overwhelm me. My role as a Hill staffer was a major part of my life and it dominated most of my time and energy, but it was not the totality of my life.
I decided I needed a creative outlet to help me stay connected to myself. Being in a play was my personal creative outlet of choice. I didn’t how things would roll out, but I knew I wasn’t the only one looking to be creative because there were several other Hill staffers in the cast. More importantly, the director was a Hill staffer! Each of us was a seasoned staffer, and each of us remained fully committed to our Hill jobs. We never even thought about shirking any of our professional responsibilities. Doing the play was how we were able to maintain some balance in our lives during a time when Hill life was full of uncertainty. Doing the play was fun. It was a great thing — it made us happy.
Your work on the Hill is important, and Congress is dealing with several very important issues. Even so, the uncertainty engulfing the Hill right now is a stressor, and it’s not healthy to ignore or underestimate its physiological and emotional affects. However, that does not mean that uncertainty has to result in you becoming stressed-out or distressed. A creative outlet can help you de-stress and get some balance back into your life by stimulating your mind and boosting your energy. It can help you focus more on the “wonderful” and less on the “awful” aspects of Hill life.
Presently, it might not be very reasonable for you to engage in a grand creative outlet, such as being in a play. The uncertainty of the current legislative schedule seems to have reached a new height, and the demands on your time and energy are too great. Nevertheless,it is important that you take care of yourself. So,in addition to being aware and taking advantage of every opportunity to eat healthy, exercise, and get a sufficient amount of sleep, try taking even just a few minutes each day to be creative.
Your creative thinking doesn’t need to result in anything elaborate or dramatic. Something as simple as changing a daily routine, or making time to look at the moon or take in the scenery will suffice. Do something that you think will be fun. Do something that will make you happy. After all, happiness is the greatest thing, especially when it comes to maintaining homeostasis! I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised at what happens once you let your creative uncertainty juices flow, and I hope you will feel free to share your thoughts and experiences here.
Tricia Ferrone
Capital LifeWorks
http://www.capitallifeworks.com
Tags: balance, Capitol Hill, creative, Hill Life, legislative schedule, Managing Your Life, stress, stress management, stressor, time management, uncertainty