take care of yourself

I went for a walk the other day. It was coolish out and a bit drizzly ( kind of like this treasury) and I was reasonably sure that I wouldn't encounter anyone. I don't get enough exercise. Most of us don't.

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I believe that my work and my health would be better if I did, but I'm not sure where to find the motivation.
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I've been thinking about Hughes essay-- Working From Within. In the section about taking care of your tools, she says that our bodies, minds and spirits need care so that our creativity doesn't suffer. If it's suffering we'll feel blocked, and maintenance, perhaps an adjustment, is due.
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I have my days when I engage in busy work because I don't have the mental energy to make things, which makes me feel guilty, which further drains my mental energy.
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She says never to confuse the block with who you are and I don't. What I do confuse with who I am is my depression and my social phobias-- but I know I shouldn't. I've just lived with it so long that where it ends and I begin can be very hazy, and when I'm having an episode it's like something that's taking over from the inside out-- then it's really tough to tell the difference. (For the record, I'm okay right now, I'm just talking.)
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I know exercise would be so good for me and I'm just completely uninterested in it.
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One thing I am good about is remembering that what an artist does is very special. We make things that weren't here before. It's not like building a TV. The first TV to include something new is pretty amazing-- then 10,000 more are made, one just like the last. Wonderful. To concieve of, design and produce a work of art is to make something that didn't exist before. That's pretty amazing. And we do it everyday. Sure, we may reproduce a design 50 times (and in doing so, in my mind, we cross over from artist to artisan), but it's that first one that gives us that buzz of joy and energy to keep going. Trusting your intuition, caring for your tools and, sometimes, making yourself do it anyway is all part and parcel of working from within.

#5 I believe in the Loch Ness monster.

Tagging Mak.