True to form, as soon as I made such an outrageously bold statement, declaring that I AM going to continue creating art, as if to somehow speak it into existence, I haven’t touched a pencil or paintbrush since. (insert eye roll emoji here)
I know myself so well in this capacity that I often hold back and purposely keep from sharing anything to anyone ever because I know as soon as I make such a declaration, it’s entirely possible that the very next minute it won’t be true at all anymore.
I don’t know why. I cannot explain it, though I’m sure there is some psychological or philosophical answer that sums it up quite nicely as some sort of self-sabotage stemming from unworthiness, but it’s far easier to just deny all of that and continue putting it off and then judging myself harshly for it.
However, I do feel like it’s beyond self-sabotage and more like self rebellion. Which, of course, leads to sabotage, ultimately, but it’s an act of rebellion, I assure you.
And one day I’ll just quietly begin to do it again… hopefully sooner than later.
Human creativity is nature manifest in us…
We’re living through some weird shit right now. There is no better way to put it. Some days creativity is my distraction, some days it’s binging on Netflix or getting lost in a great book, some days the lake takes me away and some days almost feel normal. But deep down, even on the near normal days, there’s this little itch nagging at us that we just can’t seem to do anything about.
I think if we just allow ourselves to flow in whatever way feels natural, whatever thing distracts us from that itch, then that is the exact thing we need to do in that moment. No more “supposed tos”, no more harsh judgements on how we are spending our time, what we should or shouldn’t be doing. Right now is a time for free flowing humanness because really, that’s all we can do. It’s all we can be. Ourselves. Surviving. Thriving. Living. Just… being.
I loved this cozy version of a Ted Talk Give yourself permission to be creative by Ethan Hawke and hope you get a little lift by watching it too.
There were so many gems in this short talk, I’ve listed my favorite quotes below…
“The world is an unreliable critic”.
“Art is not luxury. Art is sustenance”.
“If you get close to what you love, who you are is revealed to you”
“There is no path until you walk it”.
“Don’t be afraid to play the fool”.
Happy Hump Day Lovecats!
Miss you 🙂
