The Creative Challenge
“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”
––Mary Oliver
“I’m creatively challenged.”
“I’m not an artist.”
“I’m just not creative.”
“My sister got all the artistic genes in our family.”
It breaks my heart a little bit every time I hear people say things like this. Not because I pity them. Not at all, in fact. I just don’t believe them.
Are you one of these folks? Have you ever said or thought that you’re not creative? If so, I think you’ve been unnecessarily believing a lie about yourself, and I’d like to make the case for an alternative perspective.
I believe that creativity is an innate human capacity, and we are better off when we’re using it. As Brene Brown puts it, “Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgement, sorrow, shame.” In other words, neglecting to use our creativity is not without consequence. It affects our overall health and well being, the quality of our relationships, and the ways in which we contribute to the world.
Maybe others of you know you’re an artist, but find it difficult to make your ideas real in the world, stay consistently motivated, or move through creative blocks when they arise. I trust you’ll find valuable tools in the pages ahead as well.
Let’s play 2 truths and a lie, shall we?
Truth #1: Human beings make things.
From as far back as we can trace, homo sapiens and even our predecessors––neanderthals and homo erectus––have been creating things. And not only things that are practically “useful” like stone tools, cooking utensils, fire, etc. But also cave paintings––the meaning and purpose of which remain largely unknown and debated today––with all of this proceeding any sort of modern written or spoken language.
We’re creating to some degree all the time whether we realize it or not. It’s just that if we’re not aware of this we can’t be intentional about where our creative energy is directed, and we may do more harm than good with it.
Humans make things––artifacts, families, meaning, meals, homes, friendships, and tribes. But also walls, weapons, and wars. From our imaginations and the work of our hands, humans have made the best of things in this world and the worst of things in this world, which is why I think it’s so important that we remember our creative nature––so we can be aware and intentional about what we’re creating each day, asking always: Are we adding beauty to the world or more suffering?
You see, art is not just what happens in a studio or on a canvas.
“Art is the truly human act of creating something new that matters to another person…Anyone who cares and acts on it is performing a work of art…Art is who we are and what we do and what we need.” –– Seth Godin
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says it this way:
“Above all, remember that the meaning of life is to live it as if were a work of art. You’re not a machine…Start working on this great work of art called your own existence.”
I see this as a call to artful living. To “live artfully” is to move through our days with the awareness that each of us in an artist at work on the always-in-progress masterpiece of our own existence. Every moment, everyday, and everything we encounter are the materials with which we create a life.
Truth #2: Creating things is challenging.
As I mentioned before, people sometimes use this label of “creatively challenged” to draw a line between them and the “real artists.” But all I want to say in response to such claims is usually, “Me too! I’m creatively challenged everyday!”
Just because the capacity to create is innately human does not mean it’s always easy. Actually, it is more often than not met with considerable “resistance”––as Steven Pressfield names it in his seminal book The War of Art.
Please don’t mistake me. I’m not just talking about the traditional art forms like painting, music, dance, singing, writing, filmmaking, photography, etc. I’m talking about stuff like grocery lists, dinner parties, chore charts, color-coded calendars, scrapbooks, birthday presents, reports at work, decorating, and the like––basically anything that requires cooperation between your mind, heart, and opposable thumbs.
Lie: You’re not creative.
Period.
Humans make things––artifacts, families, meaning, meals, homes, friendships, and tribes. But also walls, weapons, and wars. From our imaginations and the work of our hands, humans have made the best of things in this world and the worst of things in this world, which is why I think it’s so important that we remember our creative nature––so we can be aware and intentional about what we’re creating each day, asking always: Are we adding beauty to the world or more suffering?
A Manifesto of Sorts
Yes, the creative process is often challenging. We meet resistance. It’s not easy. Much of it is on some level mysterious, however, there are a few basic postures and practices we can adopt that make us more likely to access creative flow more easily and more often. To make the things we are here to make. To live the life we are here to live.
These aren’t magic-button shortcuts, but rather ethics and tools that help us tap in to our human inheritance of creativity. These 5 points have become a sort of personal creative manifesto for me over the years. Perhaps they can provide a similar motivation for you.
Create > Consume
If you need it & can’t find it, make it.
Critique by creating.
Questions > Answers
Do the work.
I could probably write thousands of words on each of those points (and maybe I will soon), but for now, let me just ask: What will you make today?
And if you need more of an excuse to prioritize creativity:
Making Art Is Good For Your Health.
And here’s how to start a habit…
Some of the literal health benefits of creativity include:
Elevating Mood
Alleviating Anxiety & Depression
Boosting Brain Function
Preventing Disease
Increasing Immune Health
Increasing Trust & Confidence in Oneself
And finally, if you’re still not quite convinced, here’s a panel of experts talking about art as positive energy in these turbulent times:
“The renewing energy of art helps to manage the stress of negative events. There is overwhelming research that contemplation, observing and taking in beauty stimulate the brain and create a sense of well-being. In these turbulent times, art can be a vehicle not only for fulfillment but to encourage and expand consciousness through conversation and connection…”
So let’s not be those regretful people Mary Oliver talked about. Let’s feel that “creative power restive and uprising” and give it both “power and time.”
Are you with me? What are you going to make? Let me know…