If you and I were creative pen pals: A letter from me to you
Yesterday I sat in the cool grass and wrote a few letters and cards to put in the mail. It makes me feel whole and connected. Later in the day, I had the urge to write another letter….a letter I’d imagine I might write if you and I were pen pals and it goes a little something like this…
I hope you know that urge you feel to make something with your beautiful lined hands, the urge of following the possibilities of an idea in all directions, the urge to express what’s inside the nooks and crannies of your being…..you know the one….that urge to create doesn’t expire.
Sure ideas and inspiration come and go like the sun, they shift and mend their shape and flavour….but they’ll continue to come back...that urge will continue to make its presence known.
So you can settle into yourself and that space of trust, knowing you don’t have to rush at a pace that depletes you or worry you missed the opportunity to create altogether.
It might feel clunky when you grip the pen between your hands again.
It may feel awkward when you press record after a hiatus.
You may even fumble a touch when you find yourself getting intimate with the uncertainty of the creative process again.
I’m guessing if you stretch back to look at the projects, communities, jobs, and art you’ve been a part of, you’ll see it. Especially when you look back with wonder and generosity filled lenses.
You’ll see you’ve expressed it in more ways than you even realized.
And when you choose to let your creativity out next, whether it’s making a homemade card for a friend, doodling a character in your sketchbook, writing a one-line story, or crafting a workshop, I hope you savour and notice the joy you get from the process.
I hope you let it be the prompt that encourages you to find more ways to let creativity in your life.
Let your perspective shift from seeing creativity as a freelancer and more like the member of your community, that it’s always been. Let yourself be present with it and with all you can make, share, express, and contribute together.
And when you do maybe you can let me know, write back to me and share what it was like.