Process without Objective

I have been thinking a bit about process. I know people for whom process is everything. They draw, paint, write, do meditation, yoga, play music to be present in that moment. Achievement, goal, end game is not why they do it.  Perfection or even improvement is not their focus either. It does not matter to them if the drawing ends up in the fireplace, they do not strive to play before an audience. These are processes they do to calm, center, and strengthen their connections with themselves. It is a process that does not lead them anywhere except inside themselves and inside the moment.

I have times like this as well, but I do not have a consistent process for this. When I find the time to indulge my creative self I think guilt makes me want to produce something. Finding a way to justify the time I have spent on practicing process has been important. Time as well as money are commodities I seldom just give myself permission to use freely without a goal, or objective to show for it. 

I want to be selfish. I want to give myself the gift of process without an expectation of payoff. I am not sure yet how this will happen. Maybe take a class, maybe just find time alone with paper and pencil, maybe spend time sitting alone by the river. Maybe all those and more.

I hope everyone gets the chance to explore process in the coming year. And I hope they can let themselves do it without guilt.

Happy New Year.