One thing that you frequently hear from creative people is around “blocks”. If you’re a writer, you don’t know what to write. A painter can’t finish a piece that they’re happy with. An actor can’t seem to get into the character.
We can experience these blocks in life too. We don’t know what the next step is, or we feel powerless to take our control back.
Creativity is a beautiful thing, but it is a cultivated skill – something practised as well as something divine.
In this post I talk about what creativity is, and how I realized that I was more likely to access my creativity when my mind is settled. And there is a reason for this!
We are all creative beings. (Do I sound like a broken record yet?) Unfortunately, this can be conditioned out of us. As we grow up and are told that what we create is either right or wrong, our desire to create can diminish based on the feedback given by important people in our lives. Subsequently, the older we get, the further we get from our creative selves, resigning ourselves to the life that “makes sense”.
Every child is an artist, the problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.
– Pablo Picasso
We get so caught up in our should-do’s rather than our could-do’s or want-to’s. Sure, we find instant gratification in satisfying our small wants – food, sex, tv, alcohol, drugs. These are all very satisfying in-the-moment solutions to a real problem. But are we really satisfied???
So, what is the difference between that creative child and the blocked adult?
The ego.
As we grow up, our ego, or sense of self, develops. Depending on our upbringing, or the people that we had to show up as, our ego can be balanced, or it can be overly strong, or it can be weak. It all comes into play.
You’ve heard people describe art as an escape. That they don’t have to think or feel, and they can just disappear into the words, or onto the canvas, or into the character. Why? Because, creativity cannot exist within the ego.
The ego is our made up construct of who we are. We are in control of it (ideally). We make decisions that form the basis for our personality and how we show up in our day to day lives. The important thing here is we are in control of this. We form it. Whether this is a conscious decision or conditioned response, it is based off of experiences that we have had; it is ours, and we created it!
True creativity isn’t from ourselves. It is a gift that is given to us from the Creator (whatever name you give it/him/her, etc). We were created to create! This is our gift. An opportunity to seek something that goes deeper than our sense of self, that goes beyond what our minds can comprehend. Only when we lay aside our ego can we access this creativity. When our idea of what-is and what-has-to-be is minimized, the ideas that are meant for us show up.
The beautiful thing about this is that creativity then becomes less scary, and we can view it more like discovery. Plato may have mentioned something about this, but I am having a hard time finding the actual evidence. Regardless of who did or didn’t say it, the idea of creativity as discovery is a beautiful thing. It shifts the onus from our ego to receiving and exploration.
As soon as we set aside our wants and desires, our expectations, that’s when the true creativity shows up! Letting go of our fears of acceptance, and our visions of grandeur; setting our expectations and beliefs, labels and choices aside, we make space for something greater! The message we are meant to receive.
And this is why meditation is so important! In these quiet moments, the moments you are listening to God, is when you are able to receive. Only when you set yourself aside can you hear something greater.
These messages, channels, inspiration, don’t come when you’re stressing or thinking about yourself; about what’s next and what to do. They come in moments of silence, stillness, peace and gratitude. They come with presence. When you set aside your labels and just be – be that light! Be that soul! Be who you were created to be, just let it happen!
This isn’t something that comes easy. And it’s not something that happens overnight. And it’s not going to be beautiful at first. It’s going to be messy, and frustrating, and tiring, and depressing, and exciting, and chaotic, and joyful. All of the things. But with “sticktoitiveness”, it will become something that flows as naturally as breathing. Something as beautiful as nature. For nature doesn’t worry about what it will look like, it just grows!
Crooked Cedar Collective 