When should I resist the natural flow and when should I follow it?

Sometimes the flow carries me toward creation. But sometimes it draws me to distraction, scattering my focus and leading me nowhere.

Is this really the flow?

No, it is not. There is a difference between flow and compulsion. I surrender to both, but they lead me to different places.

Compulsion is present only in a state of emptiness. My mind wanders, searching for something to grasp. And then an object captures my attention. It calls to me. It tempts me. I know I should not follow its lead. But I do. And quickly, I have fallen into its predictable trap. I have not only burned my time, but have sacrificed my attention, drained my creative force, my energy, and left myself inert. I am stuck in a ditch and must climb to escape. The flow has not led me here, I have taken myself here through my own neglect. The flow is something else entirely.

Flow follows from a state of fullness. I must find it through my own effort, and turn it on like a tap. First, nothing. Then a few drops, a steady trickle, a gentle stream, and now a rushing river, a powerful torrent far stronger than I, carrying me along for the ride. I love the flow, I love to glide through its currents and see where its divine inspiration takes me, until the rapids abide, leaving me off on a new shore to look back on my wild ride.

How do I call it back? I do not know. But I believe it is a skill.