Creative Silence

By Kristen Cervenak

The music of every student’s screams of finals time grew thick in the air. Ugh. I had lost so much motivation and ambition to do anything but study. My mind nagged me like a mother. I told myself to focus on my studies, but grew hostile with myself because my studies were the only thing on my mind. Where is my escape again? Is there any escape left?
                 
I remembered my paper due the next week that was coming along so well with the single word of “some” pasted at the top. Every time I began, I would tell myself, “Hm. Maybe it’s ok to just wrap up in a blanket and lie down for a moment.” Then I would be motivated! I could get rest and finish my art projects right afterwards with all of the energy brimming through my body.
                 
Bad idea… every single time. I realized after the third time of slumber that I lacked motivation. Not to mention the messed-up sleep schedule that went hand-in-hand. I glided into Metta with a foggy mind. Stephanie must have sensed my energy and suggested I float before I began working.
 
I worried that I would fall asleep. A strange worry because I hear so many people say that sleeping put them at total peace. Yet, for me personally, I love experiencing the variations of every float.
 
As I floated, I was attacked with thoughts. I began to remember that research paper that my subconscious tried so desperately to pull into it. The ideas were swimming by at the same speed as my fingertips in the water. Ideas for better sentence structure, ideas for better transitioning, it kept me mildly interested in a subject that (before I started) was so fascinating.
                 
With too much on plate, I forgot why I chose my topic in the first place. The lack of distractions left me with encouragement. This didn’t surprise me because I had never had a bad experience floating. The effects of floating carried throughout the day. I felt myself wiggle out of my writer’s block with a soft relaxation that lasted for the next 12 hours.
 
As I went home, I erased all of my prior thoughts. Not to say that students should start an entirely new paper every time they are discouraged, but for me, my focus never waned until the final pound on my keyboard. I started to wonder, “Is there a link between silence and creativity?”

​(P.s. Thank you, flotation. That shiny A made my worries disintegrate.)