The Artist's Daily Bread

#neverbeensatisfied

The Artist’s Daily Bread

We pray, “Give us, Lord, this daily bread,”
Waiting open palmed for manna to fall from the sky
When the ingredients are all around us. 

As artists, we are given what we need to make:

	Flour, yeast, water
	Time to rise
	Pen & paper
	Paint & canvas
	Beat & melody
	Counts & moves
	Fabrics & thread
	Yarn & needle
	Wood & nails
	
As artists, God knew we would not be satisfied to take and eat

We are called to take and make 
Something new
Something different

We wake each day unsatisfied with the crumbs of the day before

Is this a blessing or a curse? 

This need to create and recreate
Again & again & again

It’s exhausting and exhilarating, 
This daily act of re-creation. 

As artists, we may ask instead, “give us this day our daily quest.” 

Help us to jump into the work 
Of making all things new 
We want to taste the chewy goodness of an idea risen to completion, 
Feel the sticky mass of inspiration as we knead & smooth, knead & smooth. 

We forget that daily bread takes work: 
	To bake & eat
	To toast & butter
	To chew & swallow
The discipline of bite after bite

Even receiving the gift takes effort. 

Let us accept this work as our calling,
	Our burden & our prayer

To take and make our daily art
Out of the raw ingredients
So freely given

***

Oof, I had grand plans of sending out my Grace-Filled Growth newsletter last week and another Glitch Fix post this week, but I am still fighting an illness that has lingered since before Thanksgiving and my brain is a bit mushy.

I find it fitting that I wrote the above poem/prayer when I was feeling good and able to spend time creating every day. I am feeling the angst/itch to put some new words out into the world, so I chose to share this piece as a reminder to myself why being sick feels so hard (besides just the feeling physically crappy part!). I am at my best when I’m creating every day and I haven’t been able to do that to the extent I would like while fighting sinus pressure and hacking coughs and so much fatigue.

***

I’d love to know:

If you consider yourself a creative, do you have a daily creative practice that you engage in like morning pages, a daily watercolor or sketch, or perhaps just a commitment to “touch the work?” While a daily practice can be very life-giving, do you have any tips for the times when life doesn’t let you stick to your creative routine? (which might be pretty often if you’re a parent, struggle with mental health issues, or even just this busy time of year!)

I hope to be back to my regular creative rhythms both here on Substack and in my personal life soon. Until then, I hope you’ll join me in practicing self-compassion and choosing small actions that help you feel more like yourself in a hard or busy season. You can catch me experimenting with water coloring, walking the kids to school, and keeping a running list of “ideas to follow up on when I feel better.” Oh, and rewatching Ted Lasso.