“Do you have the courage? Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”
—From the Book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
I’ve been reading this book lately, as part of my beauty regiment. I realized that as part of my creative process, I had to uplift my soul, and embolden my spirit. I needed a beauty regiment of sorts for my muse and my creativity. I had to do this for myself, or I realized that I would never create the way I wanted to: consistently, with purpose, and with discipline.
So as part of that process of being kind and compassionate to myself, this book has been helping me get in touch with all of the blocks that impede my process on the path of living creativity which I see as a form of spirituality in itself. One of my biggest impediments has always been finding that discipline that makes my drive constant and gives it the force of longevity. I think this quote beautifully sums up exactly what’s been going on.
Do I have the courage to bring forth the work that gladdens my very being? Do I have the courage to look myself in the eye and write what is in my heart, with no apologies? For a very long time, the answer has been a very emphatic NO! But now I’m trying to change the answer to: Hell yes! I want to make sure that I have the courage to share the bits and pieces of my soul with the world. The bits that are beautiful as well as those bits which are beautifully flawed.
This has been my current mantra, as I spend hours deliberating on it, bringing sentences forward and giving form to the images that are constantly flashing in my mind. As a writer, as a creative person, as a person who lives in the imagination, I look at those who live in that space as sort of modern day mystics. They have an opportunity to commune with something that is undoubtedly other-worldly. If you have been creating and you’ve been caught up in “the zone”, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
And sometimes, I feel as though that zone is missing. But really, it isn’t missing. It’s always present within, because at our core, we hold the essence of the entire universe within us. We’re sparks of splendor. But fear often stands in the way. Fear that we aren’t good enough. Fear that others will judge us if we show them who we really are. All of who we are. But the saints and mystics of the past never walked with the masses. They danced to the beat of their own drums, often unseen or heard by anyone else. They moved to the beat of their hearts. Ultimately, I think that’s what endears them to us so much.
So I continue to ask myself each moment: do I have the courage to do this? With each question I give myself the gentle answer: You don’t need permission. It’s always been within you. Just breathe life into it.” And as I continue to create, I wish the same for all the members of my soul tribe. I wish the same for every person who yearns to create and who has a vision which burns deep within them like a hidden treasure. I hope we can all show the world our sparks this year. I hope we can get in touch, find the gems, polish them to their most brilliant sheen, and then set them free.
Wishing you
Romance, Whimsy, Courage and Creativity
Until Next time…
~Ava
Roses and Whimsy 