Create (Second Post in a Series)

Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.

Brené Brown

Welcome back. How did your assignment go? Did you discover what excites you and what you would like to explore? Maybe several ideas spoke to you. When I began this process, writing was not the only item on my list. In fact, what completely captivated me was a dream I had had my entire life — to be a rock star. (Think Lady Gaga.) I know, crazy, isn’t it? Of course other thoughts interested me as well. My list looked something like this (in no particular order): ROCK STAR, drawing and sketching, walking, gardening, journaling, writing songs, embroidery, writing letters to people, Celtic sayings and legends, working with dried plants . . . to name a few.

So now that we have our ideas, what’s next? We begin. It’s that easy. Take the one that speaks to you most and find a way to bring it into your life. Check out some books from the library about it (on OverDrive for now, of course); talk to a friend who is already doing it; search the internet to find websites, podcasts, or blogs that pertain to it; find a course — either online or in person — that you can take about it. Just begin. What you will notice happening is that when you do find pockets of time in your day — because let’s face it, we are all really busy and don’t have hours to dedicate to trying something new — you will have a motivating purpose to focus on. You may discover yourself staying up later at night in order to find more time to create or getting up earlier in the morning to focus on your passion first thing or letting your family know that you need a couple of hours to yourself to work on a special project. And if the idea you chose continues to inspire you and to bring you joy, keep going with it. If it doesn’t, let it go, and return to your list; it wasn’t wasted time. There are no rules on how to do this; we just need to begin.

For me, I realized that rock star was probably not going to happen nor, truth be told, did that lifestyle appeal to me at this point in my life. But something I could do was take voice lessons and fill my days with music that way. So I contacted my friend who teaches voice out of her home and set up weekly lessons. Drawing and sketching also called to me, so I found an online class that I could do on my own timetable and have been enjoying that ever since. I even started going on long walks in nature, sometimes remembering to bring along my sketchbook. You may find that your interests change as you try new things and that maybe the dream that you just knew you had to pursue isn’t actually where you find your joy. My voice lessons have since fallen away because I realized that it wasn’t where I wanted to focus my limited time and resources anymore. I was okay with that because I had found other interests that I wanted to explore more than singing. But if I had never tried voice, I would have never made that discovery. Use the time you have to pursue the creative path(s) that appeal to you and see where they lead.

I put together a list of ideas that have guided me along the way over the past year. I hope these help you as you begin this process:

• Leave your calendar open. If time frees up in your schedule, don’t fill it. Guard the time you do have and say no when things encroach upon it. Sometimes I found that I wasn’t respecting my available time. I had to become very good at saying no — sometimes to myself — in order to protect what little time I did have.
• Get busy “doing.” While some research might be necessary, don’t let that become an excuse for not actually creating or beginning. For example, I enjoy decorating our home. One day I decided to redo our wall-to-wall bookcase. I spent hours pouring over websites, reading a million different ways about how to display books and artwork until finally I yelled, “Enough! Just do it, for crying out loud!” I spent the rest of the day taking everything out of the bookcase, organizing, and rearranging. I became completely absorbed in the process and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Did my bookcase look anything like the gorgeous photos from the websites? No. But I had spent the time designing my own creation my way. I felt like I was actually living instead of watching longingly from the sidelines. Do the necessary research, but make sure you move on from there.
• Start with what you already have. You don’t need the high-end art supplies to begin your online art course. You don’t need the $1295 treadmill to train for your first 5K. You don’t even need to create the ultimate peaceful writing oasis to start your manuscript. Use what you have and just begin. If this ends up being the passion you truly want to pursue, you can add to your arsenal as you go. But please don’t tell yourself, like I did several times, that you can’t possibly pursue your dream because you can’t afford the complete collection of supplies or because you don’t have the perfect space in which to create.
• Establish a morning routine. Some people may not want to hear this one — there was a time when I would not have suggested it — but routine positively influences creativity. (In fact, I will be dedicating a whole post to this soon!) There are two ways you can approach this. First, you can get up and immediately do the things that are important to you, so that later in the day, when your creative time arrives, you won’t squander it away because you didn’t get your daily exercise in yet or you haven’t read the newspaper or — this is a good one — you still need to clean the bathroom. If you know there are things that you absolutely want or need to do, get up and do them. Otherwise, they will begin to eat away at your exploration time. Your other option — besides not cleaning the bathroom — is to pursue your passion first thing when you are fresh and the house is still peaceful. (This is what I prefer because I find I am more motivated to get up with my alarm.) Everyone is different. Find what works for you and stick with it . . . everyday . . . even when you don’t feel like it . . . that’s when you need it the most.
• Keep a journal. This fascinating journey has drawn me along meandering paths that I never expected to explore. I wish I had started keeping my journal earlier on to note impressions I had, quotes I read, books I discovered, and connections I made. It has become my most useful and valuable tool.
• Celebrate the small victories. When my son was 3-years-old, he was sitting in a grocery cart seat with a cup of hot cocoa in his hand. We were loading groceries into the car, and I went to pick him up to get him out of the cart. “Wait!” he yelled, “What about my hot cocoa?” “You hold onto it,” I said to him, “And I’ll pick you up very carefully and set you on the ground.” He did, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he looked at me with huge, ecstatic eyes and said with pure glee, “Mommy! I’m amazing!” That moment has always stayed with me. Let’s celebrate ourselves! Did you practice your instrument today? Good for you! Did you read a chapter on starting your new business? That’s awesome! Did you try that new recipe you’ve been wanting to create in the kitchen? You are amazing! Celebrate. Encourage yourself in the small, daily steps that you take because those are the ones that matter the most.

One final thing: give yourself permission to pursue your passion. If you cannot, I am giving you that permission right now. I had a very hard time allowing myself to do this important work; and this is important. Creating — in no matter what form — is essential to who we are. Developing our creativity brings us joy. Imagine a whole world consisting of people who are living their lives with excitement and purpose and passion. Let’s give ourselves permission to do this. This is our “soul” work, and it’s time to feed our souls.

Thank you for being here.