Creativity: the life-force that we neglect
We are all creative beings. So why do we stop ourselves from expressing this innate part of our human nature?
Creativity.
A word that can encompasses so many different things - and yet, the essence is always the same. It’s this feeling that arises when we tap into the creative parts of ourself. It feels natural, flowing, expansive, and free. Like connecting with a stream of infinite water. When we engage in a creative activity, time seems to stop, or speed up, or cease to exist all together. This feeling is SO satisfying to the innermost parts of our being.
Why then, is it so hard to intentionally be creative?
When I was a child, creativity was a natural part of my existence. It wove it’s way into everything I did, from imaginative play and make-believe, to creating stories and pictures out of thin air. This is a common theme with children: they’re naturally connected to that, open, creative part of their brain (aka, the “right” side of brain). This place is often a natural set point, not something that needs to be purposefully activated.
But somewhere along the way, we begin to shut it off.
Society values the analytical “left brain”. And we’re taught that we must operate from this place in order to succeed in the world. The arts have always been viewed as ‘less than’ to our capitalistic culture. How many children dreamed of being a painter, a dancer, a singer, an actor, or a writer when they grew up, but were told they’d never make money in those careers? And even if you had supportive parents or encouraging teachers, those limiting messages from society seemed to make their way into our subconscious one way or another.
We learn that being creative means you are less then. And this fear of failure, and societal rejection, is TERRIFYING - especially in our vulnerable adolescent years. So we stuff down our dreams, stop making time to be creative, and channel this energy towards more ‘societally expectable’ tasks.
This is how creativity becomes intertwined with shame.
Suddenly, there’s guilt attached to being creative; we believe there is always something “more productive” that we should be doing with that time. (I encourage you to see where you use the word should in your life. This is often a sign that whatever you think you should be doing likely isn’t serving you at all).
What intentional creativity actually looks like:
I don’t believe we ever shut off our creative brain entirely. It’s always there, making it’s way into our daily lives. Anything we do can be creative. Inventing your own dinner recipe? Putting together an outfit? Coming up with a solution at work? Organizing your living room bookshelf? These are all small ways that we unintentionally infuse creativity into our everyday lives.
But the type of creativity I’m talking about is intentional creativity. It’s being creative for the soul purpose of being creative; with no end goal in mind.
Not to accomplish something. Not to produce or achieve. But to simply carve out time to engage in some sort of creative activity that lights you up, that makes you feel inspired, that brings joy to your day. This could be writing, watercolour painting, knitting, poetry, doodling, making music, drawing, pottery - the creative act itself doesn’t matter, so long as it feels good to you.
We live in a world that tells us everything we do needs to have a purpose. We’re subconsciously programmed to believe work = good and hobbies = bad. If we don’t gain anything from it, then what’s the point? But the thing is, we gain SO much from being creative - it’s just not the type of 'gain’ that you can tangibly see. Instead, it’s a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction deep inside, that no amount of work related achievements could ever give us.
I think part of this is due to the physical act of being creative. But I think another part is knowing we’re creating something JUST for us - something that we may never share, something that doesn’t need to be revealed to the world. It’s this act of being WITH ourself, while creating a container to fully BE ourself. By knowing we won’t be judged or graded on our creative practice, we’re suddenly able to show up fully. The fear of imperfection melts away, and we begin to embrace our wildest, quirkiest, most vulnerable parts.
Starting a creative practice: how do we actually do it?
Once you have this awareness, you’re already on the path to deeper creative expression. But limits like perfectionism and time can still get in the way.
As a Capricorn rising with a Virgo influence in astrology, I’m no stranger to perfectionism. It’s played a major role in my life, rearing it’s self destructive head often and stopping me from doing the things I want to do.
If you identify as a perfectionist, too, then there’s likely an additional hesitancy for you in starting a creative practice. Not only do you feel shame from ‘wasting’ time on something that feels so… selfish? but there’s also an added layer of fearing failure. However, the beautiful thing about creating for the sake of creating, is that there is no such thing as failure! There are no judges, or expectations, or rules. The only person judging your work is you - and in order to make this practice enjoyable, it’s vital to let go of all expectations.
The easiest way to make time for creativity is by making it a habit. If we decide to only be creative when we feel like it, it’s likely not going to happen very often. Life is busy, and after a long day of work, it’s so much more tempting to watch Netflix then tap into our creative brain.
But to fully reap the rewards of creativity, it’s something we should incorporate often - daily, if that feels good, or perhaps a couple times a week. When life gets busy, it’s easy to move the ‘unnecessary things’ like being creative to the bottom of the list. But we deserve to prioritize joy, pleasure, and play. Being selfish (which in essence, really just means putting our needs first and foremost) is often vital to showing up in the world as the most beautiful version of ourself.
Personally, I’ve noticed the morning time is easiest for me to be creative. I find those early morning hours, before my brain is filled with the events of the day, make the perfect time to do something creative. I’m less likely to cancel or postpone my creative time when it’s the first thing that I do. It’s also a beautiful practice to start the day; filling up my soul before I go out into the world.
To make time for creativity, it might mean waking up 20 minutes earlier than usual. Or giving up tv before bed. Or using the time you’d typically spend scrolling social media to put your creative practice first. The best part is, there are no rules with creativity. We don’t have to set a specific schedule or allotted amount of time. Even if we only plan to do something for 10 minutes, this magical thing often happens once we’ve actually started. We become lost in it. And suddenly, it’s hard to stop - because it simply feels so good!
So take away the pressure, and don’t turn your creativity into yet another thing you ‘have to’ do. Instead, schedule in the time because you want to. Because you know that when you do, it’ll nourish the deepest part of you.