Day 26: Creativity
#evolving40 Day 26: #Creativity
Creativity is one of the traits I love most about humanity. We are inherently generative creatures. If you’re someone who says, “I’m not a creative person,” I'll bet that you are -- whether you invent games for your kids, come up with out-of-the-box ideas at work, or rig up a solution to some problem around the house.
I’m frankly needing to remind myself about human ingenuity these days, when so many people are being short-sighted dolts. Nevertheless, I know that as a species, we are better than that -- and we will prevail over the very serious challenges we’re facing because of our creativity.
There’s a meme going around that goes something like this: “Let us remember that during hard times, we turn to our artists for meaning and inspiration.” Artistic creativity is what allows us to make sense of suffering, for our own sake and others’. Visual art, theater and film, writing, music...all of it expresses emotions in ways that make us feel seen and understood.
Elizabeth Gilbert is incredibly gifted at guiding people through the creative process, recognizing that it is both a big deal and not a big deal at all. But it is essential. One of my favorite quotes from “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” is this:
“Possessing a creative mind, after all, is something like having a border collie for a pet: It needs work, or else it will cause you an outrageous amount of trouble. Give your mind a job to do, or else it will find a job to do, and you might not like the job it invents (eating the couch, digging a hole through the living room floor, biting the mailman, etc.). It has taken me years to learn this, but it does seem to be the case that if I am not actively creating something, then I am probably actively destroying something (myself, a relationship, or my own peace of mind).”
This is my experience, too. When I’m not writing regularly, I’m more melancholy and irritable. I carry more tension and anxiety in my body that can manifest as shortness of breath, headaches, and neck and shoulder pain. I’m like a pressure cooker set to high, and writing is the release valve that lets out all that pent-up steam. Putting words to a complex, amorphous mix of emotions helps me make meaning of it all, and when you can name it, you can tame it.
And when I create something I like, something that didn’t exist before, it is the most ecstatic feeling in the world. It may not be the most brilliant or extraordinary piece of art, but it is an authentic, pure expression of something that was once bottled up inside me and is now free.
One day I mentioned to my friend Melody that I was feeling anxious and out of sorts, and she gently nudged me to intentionally make time for my creative outlets, because “that energy has to go somewhere.” I think of this often when I’m not at my best and make an effort to do something as simple as sing or dance to a favorite song or get out my guitar for 10 minutes, which never fails to ground me.
The trick for those of us with self-critical tendencies is to realize that perfection doesn’t exist -- truly, it doesn’t -- so whatever we create will be imperfect. On the Semi-Together podcast, my artist friend Kristen Ley said that you don’t need to be the best in the world at your art, that she doesn’t think she’s the very best at hers, but she loves it and does it anyway. That’s incredibly liberating for us perfectionists.
And if your creativity brings one person joy, makes her feel less alone and more understood, or inspires her to be more herself, isn’t it worth putting it out there?
* How I’ve evolved: Being more willing to sing, dance, do art, and write for the love of it and share it with others even though it’s imperfect.
* How I’m evolving: Learning to be more playful, curious, and joyful, as well as less perfectionistic, about creativity.
Links:
Making Your Dreams Real, Semi-Together interview with Kristen Ley: https://semitogether.com/podcast/making-your-dreams-real-with-kristen-ley/
- “Your Elusive Creative Genius,” TED talk by Elizbeth Gilbert: https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius
- “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert: https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic
- “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg: https://nataliegoldberg.com/books/writing-down-the-bones/
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If you’d like to join me for The Evolving 40:
- All are welcome. Jump in at any time.
- On the daily theme, think: “How have I evolved? How am I evolving?”
- Length and format are up to you.
- Post in the comments below or on your own social with the hashtag #evolving40.
- Whatever comes up is what’s meant to be.
