I haven’t written a blog post in nine months now. Things have changed a bit since then. Mm hmm. I've not had words.
So much going on in the world. Some of us believe things are working well, while for others the direction and intensity of the changes are deeply disturbing. There is a new Normal that needs to be seen and acknowledged. We need to respond. But how?
Since I am a voice for Creativity, I have to start there.
First. Let’s not forget that the creative process includes destruction too. Fundamental physics tells us that the energy from which new things form is released when old things are destroyed. The entire first half of The Wheel of Creativity® details the six stages through which the existing forms of your life (a.k.a. the "status quo") are dissolved so that you can create something new. Yes, this part of the process is scary. But it is required before the creating can begin. And Chaos is the turning point. So fasten your seat belts because...
Life is precious. Life is worth fighting for.
Second. It’s not the first time that the human race has been here, though it certainly is the first in my lifetime. I have several dear friends in their 80s—in the US, France, Germany, and England—who have lived through world war. These people—on both sides—lost their fathers in a war that swept up the world. It scarred them for life. But they found a way through.
So how shall we respond?
If nothing else, this time in history is a wakeup call, and it is calling us. Perhaps it is in response to this call that Leonard Bernstein expressed his soul-searing words:
"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."
Bernstein believed that art has the power to transform tragedy and suffering into something of beauty. I believe that Creativity is the single most transformational human resource for times like these. It might produce a book, a movement or a move across the world; but it is the only way through, because...
Third. It’s not what happens to you that destroys you but how you respond to it and what you make with it. Your unique response will be the product of your life experiences and the meaning you’ve given them, plus how well you’re able to stay present with whatever’s happening. The important thing now is not to shut down, not to ignore, not even to be shocked. The important thing is to act.
Keep showing up, stay curious, and prepare to find a way through.
What is your creative response to all this disruption? What does it mean in your life to do whatever you do more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before? What does it look like to meet fear with comfort? Anger with calm? Hatred with love? Whether it will change the world, I don’t know. I do know it will change you.
Is this not what it means to be truly alive?
When I think of all the people who are suffering today, I know need to feel the hurt. We need to feel the hurt in the world. And when we feel like we can’t take any more, then we need to get into a quiet place and create something with it.
This is how the ugliest things in life are made beautiful.
What are you creating… in your life, your relationships, in your community as well as in your studio?
What will you do today, even in the privacy of your own home, to open your heart and allow Life to flow through you, to create beauty in the world, to balance all the fear and rage and hatred that encircles us?
Do it now.
As the Earth shakes beneath us, we are all a bit wobbly these days. That's why I'm here.
- If you have a creative project you're struggling to get done, you'll find twice-monthly co-working sessions.
- If you need community to keep you creating, there's group support in the Incubator.
- If you need some emotional support to get through all this, you might prefer private coaching.
Check out my offerings on this site under the Work With Me tab. Or email me to learn more.
You are not alone.