Can’t Write Without Beans, Yo.

The world is buzzing with creative moments

If you're pressed for time and don’t want to read this whole post, skip to one sentence, third paragraph from the bottom.

I started writing this piece on January 3rd, it started off as a journal entry and developed into something more reflective. Sit with me to the end and share your insight or thoughts about quantitative creative goal setting.

I’ve written 0 songs in total this year and possibly 7 bars/measures of lyrics and music. By my standards, I should have had enough material for at least a song. All I have written in a short feature verse you could use on an early 00s remix. What a creative failure!

Never mind that I would have only had one verse commented by today, January 3rd which amounts to 16 bars. So I chant:

The internal drama, let it be Dharma.

I used to fall into the drama trap of not meeting quantitative goals as a familiar. Missing my goals would trigger internal dialogue like, ‘Miguel, you lack the discipline, and you need to work harder’ (voiced in Capricorn fashion of course).

But the behavioral change that buds from this drama is, creative success is all about mindset and honoring all that it takes to create is the inner-medical-perspective needed. I am a human who eats, use the bathroom, sleep, and happens to make art.

This medicine came to me last night while I spent an hour making a dish I’ve been iterating in my head for months. I nourished my family and the food tasted great. The black bean, butternut squash, and corn masa purée served with blue corn tortilla chips gave my son all the branch chain amino acid he needs to keep growing. I’ve been fascinated by the three sisters—bean, butternut squash, and corn—and have been itching to whip something up alongside them.

Warming up lunch on the kitchen stove top.

The courage to make this dish was like having a beat/instrumental track that’s so good that I would avoid writing to it because I wasn’t sure if my writing would live up to the beat. You know? It’s like having some expensive art supplies, or better yet, a premium canvases that you have been holding off on touching. Afraid you're not good enough to touch it because of perfectionism.

Whatever the materials are, what matters is you can find these types of wins outside of your chosen craft. The artistic and creative mindset is abundant and vast.

Don’t limit your creativity goals to just medium. Winning in the kitchen also means I am winning as an artist. I may not have written for the day, but I did brave creative work I was avoiding. I rose to the challenge and grew. From a quantitative goal setting perspective, that’s what counts.

Three sister’s puree with eggs and blue corn tortilla chips.

Creativity isn’t bound by genre, so it's better to track any and all creative moments. In other words, quality.

So, what creative thing did you do today?

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With warm and loving gratitude,

and now Miguel

Ps. Photos are of me warming last night's bean creation for lunch and cooking some eggs. Today was leg day, my yams (meaning legs) are cooked 🥵. Protein to feed the creative practice of making art. Can’t write bars without beans yo!