As we enter 2025 with so much pressure still evident, I want to remind you about the value of your creativity as a protective mechanism.
Naïve little sod that I am, I still believe why we create is to:
- Enter a different headspace
- Touch mindfulness
- Tackle subjects we can’t face in the mainstream yet
- Transcend problems
- Tell stories at a universally accessible level
- Be (briefly) optimistic
- Engage with critical thinking
- Manufacture hope
- Become a beacon to others
- Critique people, politics, and concepts
- Help people
- Play
- (Re)Connect
- Harness bravery
- Make magic
- Resist
- Rebel
- Say what we need to say
- Enjoy the act of creating
- Channel the overthinking
- Unwind the coils inside our minds
- Find people who love us properly
- Experience joy
- Express ourselves
- Come to terms with things
- Test ourselves
- Get the sourness out
- Foster identity
- Breathe
- Transform negativity into beauty
- Exercise our brains
- Survive this life
- Comment on our times
- Understand ourselves
- Let go of pain, people, politics
- Be a kid again
- Amuse ourselves
- Experiment
- Create a call to arms
- Explore our identities
- Be a part of something
- Leave a legacy
And I resent the life as a digital battery hen that goads me into producing, producing, producing. Even while admittedly, secretly loving the constraints it sometimes gives me.
Creativity as a protective mechanism
It has the power to rejuvenate us in ways we never imagined.
Instead of looking at your creativity as a purely commercial entity with some hobby elements attached, or as a twin life between business you and creative you, consider the gift creativity is to you.
- What skills have you acquired via creative dabbling?
- How do you feel after a creative session?
- How does creativity help you make sense of the world you experience?
- If you were given the opportunity to change something in this world, how would you do it in the most creative way imaginable?
Art can and does save our lives
If you are feeling lost, I urge you to reconnect with the following creative books for inspiration:
Art Will Save Your Life by Beth Pickens. Written when Trump got in the first time, Beth takes a slow walk through why creatives are now more necessary than ever, as well as offering practical advice to protect your creativity and your heart as you do so. Written by a feminist Queer woman with her community in mind, it is especially poignant for any underrepresented communities looking to feel connected.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. Written in short shots in the creative arm, Rick Rubin does more than explore his work with musicians and other creatives. He gives us all something to think about and believe in, especially when life gets in the way.
Unf*ck your Stress. Grab hold to Dr Faith Harper and take a practical, no-nonsense yet evidence-based walk through your stress. And then unwind it with steps that remind you of who you are and why you matter.