Sometimes the Most Creative Act Begins with an Intentional Pause

When we allow ourselves periods of intentional rest, we often discover that what emerges afterward has greater clarity, authenticity, and impact.

As a Board Certified Art Therapist and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, I often encourage my clients to recognize when they need to pause, to create intentional spaces for restoration and renewal. It's advice I deeply believe in.

Recently, I've been reflecting on this wisdom in my own practice and daily life, and as such have recognized the importance of aligning my offerings with my current capacity to deliver them with the depth and presence they deserve. Therefore, it is after careful consideration that I've decided to postpone the Adult Adoptee Spring Art-Based Healing Group that was scheduled to begin in mid-April. My private practice continues as usual, with openings for new clients [You can schedule a consult here].

The Wisdom of Rest

The concept of intentional rest lies at the heart of both creative and therapeutic work. Creative minds require fallow periods. Like fields that need seasons of rest to return to their full fertility, our brains and spirits require intentional pauses to replenish their capacity for innovation and connection.

This wisdom isn't something I learned from textbooks or training or degrees programs, but from lived experience. In 2001, I moved to Barcelona, Spain—alone, with no Spanish or Catalan language skills, making new friends, and desperately trying to create art in an unfamiliar environment. What surprised me most wasn't the new culture or language barriers, but the city's rhythm. Around 1pm, everything began to close. Shops where I needed to print or buy paper or other supplies would shutter their doors, and the entire city seemed to pause for a few hours.

At first, I resisted this cultural practice. As an American, I was accustomed to constant productivity, to pushing through fatigue. But eventually, I stopped fighting it. I learned to savor my lunch more slowly, to lie down afterward on the couch—just staring at the wall, letting thoughts drift by—until I found myself drifting into a nap. The result was revelatory: upon waking, I discovered a renewed creative energy that hadn't been accessible to me before.

My serendipitous experience in Barcelona taught me that sometimes the most profound creativity emerges not from pushing harder, but from allowing ourselves the space to pause.

What I experienced intuitively in Barcelona is indeed backed by neuroscience. Research from Harvard Medical School confirms that rest is critical for cognitive functioning and creative problem-solving. During periods of rest, our brains process information, forge novel connections, and integrate experiences in ways that simply aren't possible during constant activity.

Dr. Malia Wollan explains the science behind what I discovered through experience: while a quick 10-minute nap might sharpen thinking for immediate tasks, deeper creative work requires longer rest periods. "If you have a major creative project ahead of you, whether it is an innovative idea at work, or redecorating your house, you will need at least 90-minutes of napping time. This gives your brain enough time to shuttle around ideas to make the associations that it needs to make."

My serendipitous experience in Barcelona taught me that sometimes the most profound creativity emerges not from pushing harder, but from allowing ourselves the space to pause.

Professional Practice Meets Personal Rhythm

While my private practice continues as usual (and welcoming new clients), I'm learning to honor different rhythms for different aspects of my work.

Group facilitation requires a particular type of presence and energy – one that I want to bring fully when I offer it, in particular for my own community of adult adoptees. At the same time, I'm devoting focused attention to my professional art practice, creating work for an upcoming solo exhibition claiming my identity as a Latina while also exploring the emotional turmoil of the reunion with my culture and birth family, scheduled to open in 2026.

These creative pursuits, alongside personal matters that need tending, have led me to this intentional pause in group offerings.

The Art of the Pause

In music, the rests between notes give a composition its shape and power. In conversation, it's the pauses that allow for engaged listening, meaning-making, and the opportunity for others to lend their opinions or experiences, thus providing a richer and more complete interaction. In art-making, negative space often gives form to the positive.

Like fields that need seasons of rest to return to their full fertility, our brains and spirits require intentional pauses.

What if we approached our professional and personal lives with the same appreciation for these necessary pauses?

When we resist rest, we often find ourselves creating from a depleted place – our work lacks the depth and resonance it might otherwise have. By contrast, when we allow ourselves periods of intentional rest, we often discover that what emerges afterward has greater clarity, authenticity, and impact.

Moving Forward

As I navigate this intentional pause in certain aspects of my work, I'm grateful for the opportunity to model what I believe to be true: that honoring our needs for rest and restoration is not self-indulgent, as society would have us believe, but it's essential for sustainable creative practice and well-being.

For those who had registered for the spring group, check your inbox for reimbursement details. And for anyone interested in individual art therapy sessions, my practice remains open and welcoming new clients.

Future art-based healing groups for adult adoptees or non-adopted people will return when the timing aligns. Until then, I'm curious: How do you incorporate intentional pauses into your life and work? What emerges for you during those times of rest?

References

Wollan, M. (2017). "Secret to brain success: Intelligent cognitive rest." Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/secret-to-brain-success-intelligent-cognitive-rest-2017050411705