This morning I was thinking about creativity, or more specifically what being a creative person in society means to me.
On a broad scale it means that I don’t fit in.
Oh I may blend in, show up at parties looking presentable and may even make wonderful small talk. Perhaps I can even work in a cubicle and take part in casual Friday.
All you would have to do is check my notebooks to learn the truth.
There you will find doodles and scribbles and perhaps a poem or two.
You may find in my bag a book of quotes, some sparkly pens and a few smashbooks.
If you were observant you might notice the cringe that crosses my face when someone talks about “3rd quarter earnings” or uses the term “team player.”
(FYI my creative soul translates “team player” to
“mind-less drone that needs to fit in, not cause waves and act like everyone else.”)
It would seem to me that creative souls can struggle with some of the fundamental guidelines that society seems to be governed by:
*The need to be productive on a daily (if not hourly) basis
*Working a traditional work day
Just to name a few.
I started to think about the internal struggle that can go on when the “daily grind” just doesn’t fit who you are.
I realized that part of the daily grind is all about outward production.
It’s about appearances, it’s about going from the outside in.
We are conditioned to this outward way of doing things from an early age.
We aim to achieve grades in school that are considered acceptable.
We aim to build a career that is respectable.
To earn an amount of money that will allow us to buy things we are told we need.
We have goals set forth by a boss, by shareholders, by customers and it is our job to meet those goals.
Being creative however is not about meeting goals set by the outside.
It is not something that comes from outside in.
Creative expression is something that comes from the inside out.
You create something within your soul from a thought, a feeling, a song, an image
and it starts a bit of a stirring.
A hum starts softly within the creative fire and you contemplate it,
ponder it, doodle about it.
This process cannot be rushed much like you cannot rush your hair to grow or a flower to bloom.
So often times it can look as if a creative person is lazy and does not do much of anything as they sit pondering that which stirs a soul.
When the truth is, they are doing quite a bit.
They are going within. Deep, deep within their soul. Contemplating their feelings around this little stirring. They dig within their hearts and explore areas of the soul that most are terrified to look.
They do not bury themselves in “to-do lists” or “productivity reports.”
They simple are as they allow this fire to burn, to consume and to rip open walls, create new trails and spark new conversations.
Then, they create.
Perhaps a painting, maybe a story, a poem, a drawing, a sculpture, a song.
You see I realized that to be a creative means that you spend a lot of time inward exploring those long forgotten and overgrown trails. You don’t go down the road you are told to go down by the vast majority.
You go down the road that you need to go down. The road you are destined to go down.
And you go down it alone.
For me, accepting that my “productive days” don’t look like everyone else’s was difficult to accept.
It’s never easy going against the tide.
The truth however is that I was put here to be me, to express and create a life that reflects my soul’s truth.
Not to blend in.
Here’s to standing out.
Until Next Time….
-Michele aka The Dreaming Dilettante