See if this resonates with you.
I used to be focused on me as the “creator,” me as the person who does the creating, that it’s all up to me to create something from nothing. Me me me.
And this self-focus on me as the creator generated tons of inner resistance in the form of procrastination, overwhelm and all the other shades of fear, and I also often felt invalidated by the external world, as though what I created didn’t seem to really matter to anyone else. Again, it was all about me me me.
It’s taken a lifetime of learning, healing, and growth to see my true role as the supporter of creativity — whether the “creating” is done by me or by someone else. I’m drawn to wherever the creative spirit takes me, to wherever I feel a spiritual and aesthetic connection. This can be to a person or to a passion project that person wants to create, or to an animal, or a place, an object, an idea, a scent—to anything, really. The point is, when the focus is no longer on me as the sole creator, I feel liberated to be drawn towards whatever inspires me, and support its creative development, regardless of who actually does or is seen as the creator. In other words, regardless of who gets to say, “I created this.”
Mind you, I’ll never stop creating. I’m not talking about sacrificing my own creativity in order to support others in theirs. What I’m talking about is the recognition that something far beyond our individual egos is the Creator and we are all co-creators, co-pilots, all of us. I simply go wherever the creative spirit wind takes me, because that’s where I’m most needed at any given time. Sometimes it takes me to my own creative expression and sometimes it takes me to supporting someone else’s creative expression. Both are soul- fulfilling, both serve the creative spirit.
Do I still get tripped up by my ego sometimes? Of course! I’m human. But more and more it gets easier to stop wrangling with life for the pilot seat (an impossible feat!), and slip back into my co-pilot seat, from which I can experience the vast beauty and mysteries of life with much more clarity, joy, aliveness, purposeful engagement, and awe.
We are all supported in this life in more ways than we can imagine.
If you’re willing, today or some time this week, see how you can support the expression of your and/or someone else’s creativity. Just for the fun of it.
Was this Boost helpful to you? Please share your comments below.