“Unexpressed creativity is not benign.” This quote from Brené Brown really grabbed my attention by the lapels. Find an expression for your innate creativity or risk……what?
While that might appear to be a thinly veiled threat, I believe it is meant as a call for us to go within, to reconnect with that creative spirit that had a much freer reign in our 5 year old selves.
Have you had the pleasure of spending time with a young child lately? I admire how they throw themselves into their play. Their heart and soul goes into each activity, yet there is little if any attachment to the “outcome.” The fun is in the creative process, not in the result of the process.
As adults, many of us have lost touch with this basic yet important lesson. We hesitate to paint anything, knowing we wouldn’t hang it on our walls or even think of selling it. We don’t take singing lessons, though we would love to, because we are not going to be a recording artist. We don’t let ourselves spend the time to write or sew or cook or build because we don’t see the point if there is no monetary or other perceived “real” benefit.
The lesson here though, is just to create, not to attach meaning to what comes from creating.
What is your inner child calling you to express? Perhaps it is not one single thing, but rather just to play again, you know, for the fun of playing. Dance, make, garden, sketch, write, knit, or whatever the joyful part of you wants to do, understanding the point of it all, is the creative process itself. That’s where the juice is; that’s where healing benefits lie. As serious grownups, we need to relearn this basic skill for healthy, balanced, joyful living.
We are expansive beings by nature for our entire lives, not just during childhood. And I know, it’s easy to get consumed by the responsibilities of being an adult, a parent, a breadwinner, but this is important, as the above mentioned quote reminds us.
So my invitation (or do I mean challenge?) to you, if you are not already engaged in some creativity just for the fun of it, is to start or do something new this week. My daughters and I do an annual fall craft. This year we are painting wooden acorns and gluing cinnamon sticks around little candles. How will it turn out? Who knows? Who cares? I just can’t wait to create.
