Keep Showing Up (Third and Final Post in the Series)

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.

Vincent Van Gogh

I wonder how your journey is going. Are you enjoying the process of exploring something new or perhaps returning to something that had faded from your life? Have you found resources to ignite the fire you felt from your initial spark? Have you set up a routine that allows yourself more creative time in your day? Or maybe the opposite is occurring. Maybe you have stumbled and come to a stand still. Maybe you are frustrated by how one day the passion and excitement fill the void that has been aching within you, and then the very next day you are unsure of how to proceed along that same path of freedom and exploration. If this is the case, you are not alone. I too have started and stopped, walked away and come back, given up and resumed. Sometimes I find myself resisting; keeping myself from doing the very things that bring me joy. I concoct excuses, gloriously unimaginative excuses — it’s too noisy in the house for me to write, the kids are studying so I can’t practice the piano, it’s raining today so I can’t take my walk. When I realize what I’m doing, I want to grab myself by the shoulders, shake violently, and shout, “Go outside and write! Tell the kids to take a break! Put on your raincoat and enjoy the outdoors!” Sometimes it’s almost as if I don’t want to allow joy into my life, and I convince myself that I should be doing the “important” work instead. But this is the important work, I remind myself. This is the work I need to be doing and the very work that my children must see me doing. They need to see me squirreling away at my desk to write, or typing furiously at the dining room table to put the finishing touches on my blog post, or covering the kitchen counter with my art supplies to create. We must honor our creativity for what it brings us — joy, excitement, peace, a thrill. However our art enriches us is enough of a reason to pursue it, to make time for it, and to nurture it.

Sometimes I also tell myself untruths. I tell myself that I am not ready for this; that I am not good enough; that it is just not my time yet. But as Glennon Doyle points out in the podcast Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert, “Creativity doesn’t ask us to be ready first. It finds us on the bathroom floor, hands us an invitation, and says, ‘Don’t wait until you’re ready; just get up and dance with me.’ ” Funny how I received that message on the very day I was ready to quit. Even with my routine in place, even with my blog set up, even with the wonderfully supportive feedback I have received, I woke up the other morning and thought, “I don’t think I’m going to do this anymore.” Then the routine took over, and I sat at my desk with my tea, lit my candle, said my writing prayer, and wrote. I wrote horribly that morning, but I wrote nonetheless. Then I stood up, feeling slightly better for my efforts, took a walk with the inspirational messages of Liz Gilbert humming in my ear, and that is when I heard Glennon Doyle’s words: “Just get up and dance with me.” “OK,” I thought, “I don’t feel ready, but I will dance. I will keep showing up.”

Let’s just promise each other that we will continue. No matter how we do it, we will find our way back to that creative space — that time we set aside for ourselves and for our soul’s work — and we will keep showing up.

If you would like a more structured and in-depth exploration of creativity and finding it within you, I highly recommend the free online course The Creative Exponent. Marian Parsons and Shaunna West help you find ways to discover, uphold, and share your creativity through a series of video chats and journaling prompts. This class is what awakened me to my journey and opened my eyes to the importance of honoring my creativity.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed and felt encouraged by Austin Kleon’s books Keep Going, Show Your Work, and Steal Like an Artist, which all focus on different aspects of the creative life. His weekly newsletter is a delightful treat that consists of an assortment of items that are currently inspiring him.

Finally, Elizabeth Gilbert’s podcast Magic Lessons, which she created after writing her incredible book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, has been for me a constant source of inspiration, motivation, and encouragement. She has become the little voice inside my head that cheers me on.

I would love to hear about the resources that inspire you in your creative endeavors, either that focus on the general idea of creativity or on a particular area that you are exploring, or that simply motivate you in some way.

As always, thank you so much for being here.

Photo by Hamid hamido on Unsplash

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