Are we all creative beings?

[This blog post was originally created on March 31, 2016]

There’s a quote I heard today, “While you're being creative, nothing is wrong. There's no such thing as a mistake, and any drivel may lead to the breakthrough”, written by John Cleese. And you know what? Not only is this true, but it’s true at all times because we are all creative beings and nothing is ever wrong.

What is being creative to you? In the past, being creative to me was about painting, writing music, poetry, dancing, coming up with cool artistic projects, music collaborations, and things of that like. Ask me now? Completely different. Being creative is basically allowing ourselves to express ourselves in a way that is true for us, however form that may be. For most of my life, I never truly pondered on the question “What do I do to express myself?” Or, “What way do I wish to be creative and create?” I grew up not really asking many questions about life, about myself, and who I was truly being. I did however grew up knowing how to consume…listen to music, watch TV, watch movies, read, go to concerts, go to church, eat, drink, and consume loads of information at school. What I didn’t grow up with (as I’m sure many of you can relate), was the space to really tap into my creative side… into what I truly wish to create and how I truly wish to express myself. We live in a world where we’re mostly taught how to consume and follow (the norm), and not how to unleash our creative side and how to lead.

Side note (or maybe not), don’t you find it interesting how in school, the biggest emphasis is on how to educate ourselves to get this job or get that job, as opposed to how to be our own bosses, have our own companies, or just work for ourselves? How is it that in this day and age, our educational system, and let’s face it, most of our systems worldwide (be it schools, business’, or way of life), doesn’t allow nearly half of its focus to be on discovering our own true gifts and harvesting whatever is our true nature? How is it that we are all educated the same way, yet we all learn differently? How is it that we live in a world where our intelligence, self-worth, and abilities are simply tested on our abilities to memorize facts and how to regurgitate? As if that is the only part of us that has value. What about every other aspect of our being?

For one, I know that I’m not the best at memorizing particular things, so does that make me unintelligent and unworthy of attending the so called ‘best schools’ in the world or of having a successful and fulfilling life? Of course not. I know better. I know that I have many beautiful gifts to share with this world. But I also know that many don’t know that about themselves. Perhaps we don’t see this with our naked eye, but the way our society and systems function, it evokes some kind of belief onto many people of “not being good enough”, and many of us do believe (consciously or not) that we are not good enough… simply because the system, society, and culture we live in, has certain ‘guidelines’ as to how people need to live their lives and how that needs to look like.

Do my or your ideas, creativity, and other innate gifts have space in this system or environment to flourish? Of course! It is our birthright to show up, to show our true colors, and to stop hiding behind the layers and masks that we grew up behind. It’s time for all of us to really do some soul s

earching, introspection, and/or exploration to see what creativity lies within us because you know what, WE ARE ALL CREATIVE BEINGS. And we ALL have our creative ways to express ourselves. There’s no one else out there in the world with my unique gifts, and there’s no one out there in this world with your unique gifts. So what is holding many of us back? Fear! Fear of what? Fear lives differently in all of us, and shows up with its own flavor (fear of being rejected, ridiculed, shamed, bullied, judged, etc.), but at the core of all fears is the fear of not being loved. Sounds crazy right? It is. But what is even crazier is that due to this fear, we stop ourselves from showing who we truly are, with our gifts and all.

And want to hear something even crazier (ok, maybe not for all of you), you don’t have to rid yourself of the fear or make it wrong to actually take action. We can act independently of those fears. And the more we acknowledge these fears, give them space to be, and love them as you love every other part of you (by the way – it is important to love and accept every part of yourself, even the things you may not like), the easier you will see it is to take action on what you wish to express or create (or anything else for that matter). And you will also notice those fears slowly but surely take less space and focus within you.

So here’s a little exercise for you… write down a few of your biggest fears. Then one by one act them out, yell them out, act it out in exaggeration, and draw it out. As you’re doing this, go with the flow and do anything else around the fear (perhaps meditate on it, dance it, share it with someone, write a story about it…options are endless) that feels natural to you. Remember, there is no wrong. You’re also being creative with how you deal with your fears. And one other thing, if you incur any sort of resistances or anxieties while doing this exercise, that is ok too. We all process things differently, and there is no wrong way of dealing with our fears. The most important thing is to be kind and loving to yourself. And if you find yourself being judgmental on yourself for not being kind or loving to yourself, I have two words for you… STOP IT!!! :) No really, STOP IT!!! We have to end the vicious cycle of judging ourselves and treating ourselves like cow manure.

Go, discover, explore, express, create, and accept whatever path to creativity you’re on. The world is patient to receiving whatever gifts you have to share.

#creativity #fear #being #creative #creation #action #acceptance #personaldevelopment