Creativity is fire. There is a burning ember in each of us. This essential spark is alive, in some way big or small, in every heart. When we do things to fan this flame, it grows. When we give words to the things unspoken in our hearts, when we paint that leaf the perfect shade of purple, or when we dance in our kitchens because we have to; all these acts feed our flame.
The flame of creativity can never go out. There is no human alive whose creative fire has gone kaput. If you are breathing, sure enough, the fire of creativity is alive in you. It may have dimmed to the smallest, saddest, sputtering lick of fire; but it continues. That is undoubtable.
Sometimes we think that it has been too long. We have let it go too far. We have taken the wrong road for too long in the wrong direction. We have procrastinated that project far too long. What’s the point in starting now? We have so much momentum against breathing into the creative fire that taking on that first deep breath in so many years feels insurmountable. We think, “oh, there are so many layers to peel away. I don’t have the energy”. Or maybe we say out loud to a few trusted friends or houseplants, “I’ll start tomorrow”. Tomorrow comes, and we are feeling the same way.
When creative beings wander too far away from that essential creative fire, we feel disconnected. We aren’t ourselves in some way. It may feel like depression. It may feel like a dense blanket of dissatisfaction spread across the landscape of our life. And many times, we get down on ourselves about it. We feel bad for leaving the craft, for leaving the practice, for leaving that piece of ourselves that we know to be essential to our happiness. But more than our happiness, our wholeness. Some part of us knows we need this creative fire to be fully human. It is ancient and primal.
We all do this. We are humans. We are meant to leave the fire, to remember why it is important to us. Let yourself off the hook. You are human – exquisite in your wandering.
Today, or when it calls, feel what pulls you towards the heat of this fire. Feel for those motions, those acts, those thoughts, that warm you from the inside. What creates a deep stirring in your spine? What makes your hips warm? What feels like sun shining inside your bones? Pay attention to nothing but this warmth, just for a moment. Let all the other sayings and thinkings be silent for a few precious moments and let the knowing of your body lead you towards the fire.
What can you do today, right now, to fan the flames? What can you do that lights you up? It could be as simple as closing your eyes, right now, and feeling in to this flame…even just to say, “I see you. I honor you.”
I’ll meet you at the fire <3
Best Wishes,
Nicole
Recent Comments