A riff on restlessness + creativity
When you look at this list….what do you see?
Designing kitchens with lego
DIY-ing my own newspaper
Planning spaghetti dinner fundraisers
Creating a meetup group
Facilitating creativity + process art workshops
Starting a business
Launching a community festival
About a month ago an email from Sarah Ashman of Public Persona popped into my inbox on the exact day I was beginning to work on refreshing my website copy...and it was all about getting to the core of your story. I smiled when I read it...perfect timing.
So I started to write out my story...listing out all the things I’ve created or contributed to in no particular order. And there it was…..
RESTLESS TO CREATE
I could clearly see that this restlessness to create...this urge, itch, CRAVING...has always shown up...and continued to reappear in my life.
I’m guessing if you, looked back and made your own list...you might see that familiar pattern show up too.
By looking back we can see that moving forward there will always be a way for us to use our creativity to express ourselves and contribute in a meaningful way.
And here’s why thinking about it this way can be helpful….
THE LULL
That in-between space we find ourselves in after a wrapping up a creative project can feel weird, lonely, boring and frustrating at times. This in-between space can also sometimes jar our identity as a creative or artist.
Maybe we worry we’ve lost our passion, we question our ability to be creative or we worry if we’ll have interesting things to say and make and contribute in the future. I know ALL of these things have run through my mind in the last few months.
But knowing that this RESTLESSNESS will rise up inside of us again...that we’ll find another way to make, contribute and create...means we don’t have to fear or freak out during the lull. We can maybe even find ways to enjoy it. We can rest, wander, be bored or be steadily working away.
Facing Uncertainty
Uncertainty is ever-present.....what will happen when I make and share this? What will this next month or year bring?
Knowing that this RESTLESSNESS to create will keep coming back means we can step into trusting that no matter what happens...failures, messiness, change of plans….eventually we will find our way back to pick up that pen, paintbrush, camera...and be creating again.
On the surface, this thought seems obvious and yet if we lean into it we can feel hopeful, content and free knowing that we’ll continue to create.
We can trust that the lulls will always give way to that CRAVING again.
We can be content knowing that the RESTLESSNESS will coax our hands, body and heart back to the dance floor to create again.
If you find yourself in the lull, worried about the uncertainty of your idea, business or worry about what you could create next….I encourage you to look back...at the trail of creations, art and contributions you’ve made and maybe you’ll notice this same pattern.