Finding Freedom In Commitment

How devotion to your craft can set both you and it free

“Commitment…is not an obligation but a deep devotion to that which you love. In your devotion to it, the very thing you are committed to is set free.” 

A few years ago, when I lived in Oaxaca, I had that quote pinned up on my wall.

This wisdom taken from a piece by Toko-Pa Turner struck a profound cord with me and I have come back to her words over and over.

However, as sometimes happens, somewhere in the last five years, I had changed the quote in my mind to say,“by committing to something you set yourself free.” It was only when looking for the quote again that I realised.

I thought on this for a while. Which was true? The answer I landed on was both. 

Let me explain, using this example from my own work. 

Deep Devotion and Commitment Set Me Free:

From the moment I wrote the first word of my novel I had a commitment with myself, I would write 500 words a day until it was done. I would devote myself to the story by hitting that daily word count and once the words were written—whether it took me twenty minutes or a few hours—I was free to spend the rest of the day as I pleased.

It wasn’t an obligation, rather a daily devotion. 

Those 500 words gave me an easy/doable way into something that I had felt locked out of for too long and I was set free. I was free of the constant guilt of not writing and I also ended up having so much more time, because once I had written the 500 words, I could do whatever I wanted; write articles and do other paid work, read, bake cakes, dance, do yoga, watch movies…and the little voice that said I should be writing had no more power. 

Further into the novel, I wanted to spend more time in devotion to it, so I upped the word count. I still felt entirely liberated. 

Deep Devotion and Commitment Set the Work Free:

Coming to the page with little plan of where my story was going, but in the knowledge that I would be back there every day, also set my work free. The novel trusted that I would return each day and the characters could relax— they knew their story would be told, the container in which the story could evolve was safely set, the boundaries and rhythm were clear.

There were many points along the way where I couldn’t have told you what the next 500 words would look like, but each day the path was always illuminated just enough for those words to get written. 

Four months after I wrote the first word, I had my first draft. My devotion and commitment to the work had liberated it and it had blossomed into something I could never have evisaged just a few months earlier. 

What might devotion to your creative life look like for you?

Mine is just one example of what devotion/commitment to your work can look like. Everyone’s version is different, it is simply about the container we are creating for the thing we love/desire most. 

What might devotion to your writing be for you?

How can you make it as easy on yourself as possible? 

What could it mean for you to commit to the thing you want most?

How can you allow yourself and your work to feel a little more free?

Fresh air, freedom and multiple paths to explore- Llano de las Flores, Oaxaca

Recommendations

Things I’ve enjoyed recently

I loved hearing Richard Osman talk to Nihal Arthanayake, on the Penguin Podcast, about how having a daily word count helped set him free from his nasty inner critic.

One of the delicious meals I made on the days when the 500 words were done and dusted early, were these Bean Burgers. I never added the feta and they were super tasty nonetheless. 

I adore learning from and being inspired by creative people in different fields to mine. I have watched this video of music producer Owen Cutts and artist Kojey Radical on repeat since I first saw it yesterday.

If you like ambient noise as you write and/or you are missing writing in cafes, this is a fun little way to pretend you are in a cozy café on a rainy day.