About Creative Pause

Creative Pause is a quiet space on the internet - a place especially for creatives and those with high sensitivity, but for anyone who wants a breather.  When I take a short break from a project and want to put my head somewhere else, or dip into my phone in the evening or before bed, or flick for something on my tea break, I want something interesting - but not over-stimulating.  My creative and work life are so charged, Facebook is so full of enthusiasm, causes, passion, outrage, argument; the research blogs I follow make my mind buzz; the work blogs are all so galvanising; the newspaper sites bring in the sturm und drang of the world... All of that has its place.  And so does creative pause.

So, here, I'm collecting things that are beautiful and thought-provoking, but provoking contemplative thought. No aphorisms, truisms, or self-help mantras - rather, high-quality art, poetry, prose, and music.  Things that feed creativity and calm and slow, interesting musings. As running water is one of my favourite things, and is very soothing for high sensitivity, it also includes videos of rivers, canals, weirs, and waterfalls.

If you'd like to contribute

If you have anything you'd like to see featured, or spot something you think fits, please email me - especially if you're the artist, writer, or musician.

Comments are switched off because

This is a place for contemplation, not discussion or interaction, and certainly not for argument. We have plenty of spaces already for those - this is the space for silent thought. You're welcome to contact me, though, at creativepauseblog@gmail.com.

Copyright rules

To creators of art, poetry, music, photography, etc, copyright is like the law that says people can't come into your home and carry off your stuff. Taking someone's work without permission is stealing the time that went into creating it, and into developing the expertise, and the rewards that would give them time to make more of it. Raising one's profile is also hugely important - but it's down to the creator to decide what can and can't be shared.

This is how we respect copyright: All the work we post is posted by the creator, with the creator's explicit permission, under a Creative Commons Licence, or has passed out of copyright. Even work that's already widely doing the rounds on Facebook etc has to meet these rules: it belongs to its creator.

This is how you can respect copyright: Do the same. If you want to share anything on the blog, share the post where it features or approach the creator yourself. If you love someone's work enough to share it, please show the same love to the someone who made it. Support the beautiful mind and life that made the beautiful thing.