The Art of The Pause

Finding creativity in stillness

I took a brief pause in my 100-day writing project — a pause of one week, to be exact. This past weekend, I had a major performance, and to maintain my balance, I—drumroll, please—paused.

I recently came across a beautiful phrase attributed to the pianist Arthur Rubinstein. When asked how he handles the notes so adeptly, he replied, 'I handle the notes no better than many others, but the pauses—ah! That is where the art resides.'

Pausing does not come easily to me. However, as I grow a bit wiser, I have come to rely on the power of the pause.

Creatively, I find that pausing—whether it's taking a walk, reading a book instead of writing one, painting instead of writing, or simply visiting a bookstore—allows both the brain and body to free up space for new ideas to emerge. Any kind of pause, really, can open the door to creativity.

It's challenging to embrace pausing in our productivity-driven culture. In the West, the prevailing ethos often seems to be: drive to survive, and then drive yourself into the ground, both metaphorically and physically.

The pause can be integrated into everything we do, both creatively and logistically. However, it’s important to occasionally stop and ask yourself: Am I avoiding pauses intentionally? Perhaps there is wisdom in the pause that I'm not yet ready to face. In those moments of silence, the answers we seek might just reveal themselves.