If you would have met me back in 2017, you would think I had everything going for me. I had a partner, a child, and a good paying job. I was even going to graduate school to further my career prospects. But despite appearances, my life was a complete mess. Beneath the surface, I was an alcoholic, putting down 1.5 to 2 bottles of wine every night (a huge improvement from my former pints of vodka). When I remembered, I would take my anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication (a terrible mix with booze btw). And whenever alcohol wasn’t available, I would eat my feelings in a stomach-turning sugar binge. All of this self-destruction and self-loathing led me to the brink of suicide for the second time in my life. That is, until my creativity stepped in to saved me. Literally. When I began to reclaim my creativity, everything changed. I found my missing piece. The piece I had denied myself for so long because I believed the lie that my creativity wasn’t important, wasn’t practical, and wasn’t needed. This is the biggest lie a creative soul could ever tell themselves! After surviving this supreme low in life, reclaiming my creativity taught me 3 powerful lessons that I’d like to share with you. My sincere hope is that by sharing my journey, you will never need to sink into the darkness, like I did, to find these truths. 1. Creative expression is necessary for some people Society likes to treat creativity like sprinkles on a cupcake. An added extra to flavor life, but something you could easily do without. My experience taught me that this isn’t true for some people. For “creative souls”, our expression of creativity is as important as breathing. It is a vital element of our well-being and should be treated as such. When we disregard our creativity as an afterthought, or relentlessly judge it, we rob ourselves of this incredible lifeforce. As seen in my story, and in many I’ve heard from other creatives, ignoring this can be a death sentence. 2. Creativity is an act of self love When we take the time and space to pursue our creativity, it sends a powerful signal to our soul that we love and appreciate what makes us happy. By accepting creativity as a real part of our identity, deserving of our attention, we give ourselves the healing gift of unconditional love. It isn’t about achieving some creative goal or level of recognition (although that is very possible as an Awakened Creator). Reclaiming your creativity is caring about yourself enough to put your own oxygen mask on first before anyone else around you. To choose your creativity is to choose to love yourself. 3. The creative journey is all about transformation Creative souls aren’t just creatively talented for the heck of it, our creativity is a divine gift. When applied properly, our creativity can transform our lives and carry us on an incredible lifelong journey of self-discovery through joy. Your creative projects (and your setbacks) are a reflection of your inner state, and with each one, you learn something powerful about yourself, about life, about…everything! Creativity is a force for deep healing, and serves as both the tool and the path. As you transform, your work becomes infused with the wisdom you’ve gained and holds the power to help others heal as well. So how did I start reclaiming my creativity? How can you start making your creativity a priority and showing yourself some love through your creative expression? Here are 3 tools that worked beautifully for me (and that I still use): 1. Shadow Journaling At Awakened Creators, we refer to self-reflective journaling as “sacred journeying”. This invaluable process allows a clearer window into the often subconscious source(s) of blockages in our creative process. By surrendering our fears, anxieties, and rage onto the page, we not only give ourselves a safe space to feel our emotions and demonstrate powerful self-compassion, we start freeing ourselves from unhealthy attachment to and blind acceptance of false narratives that keep us stuck. I often share journal prompts on Instagram to encourage this practice and offer guidance for going deep. I recommend every creative keep a journal, and use it as often as they feel called, especially during creative blocks. 2. Meditation Meditation is a very powerful tool for learning how to quiet your inner critic and untangle old programming that is leaving you stuck. Meditation can be as simple or complex as you want it to be, so don’t feel bad starting with just a few minutes a day. As you start seeing the positive results of a meditation practice, you will actually want to do it for longer and more often. I use meditation as both a daily practice (as often as I can) and as a prescriptive medicine when I get into a funky head space. If you want help getting started, guided meditations are great because they walk you through the process step by step. I have a growing library of meditations I’ve recorded on the Awakened Creators YouTube Channel that you can check out. 3. Create (of course)! Did you actually think you could reclaim your creativity without picking up that pencil or paintbrush? Not a chance! Whatever your medium of expression, you MUST actually do it to experience the transformative power of the creative journey. I get it. It can be scary to start, especially if you’ve been repressing your creativity for years, but the rewards will be great. Yes, you will judge yourself. Yes, you will wonder what the heck to create, but taking that risk will be so worthwhile! When you are living in your joy and feeling better about your life than you ever have, you will only wish you’d started sooner! Well beautiful soul, I hope reading this helped you understand how essential reclaiming your creativity is to your well-being and given you some practical tools you can use to begin your journey. It is …
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