Let’s give three cheers for the power of creativity. Where do you find it? How do you cultivate it? What gifts does it bring to your life?

Sometimes you’ll hear people lament that they are terrible dancers or can’t paint, or don’t have a creative bone in their body. I say balderdash! There are as many ways to create as there are people on the planet.

If you ask me, where people miss the mark is by focusing on the finished product. It’s easy to be intimidated when you’re a newbie admiring the work of a seasoned professional.

Where the rubber hits the road is in the actual act of doing. By simply making that first step in the process, regardless of your chosen path, you set yourself miles ahead of everyone else who has yet to start.

It’s easy to figure out what kind of creative you are. Just keep trying different things until you land on something that you enjoy doing so much you don’t care about the outcome. At the end of the day, it’s all about the process.

Every great creative is in love with their work. Not so much their “works” per se, but the work itself. At the very least it’s one of their favorite places to spend time.

When you’re on a roll creating something, time gets blurry and the rest of the world recedes into the background. When it’s going well when you find yourself in that famous ‘flow state’ that gurus are always talking about.

That mystical flow state is really the nut to crack. It takes practice and a few devious tricks to outwit the inner demons that would keep you away. The creative process is surrounded by any number of gatekeepers known as limiting beliefs.

Everyone who is starting out has to overcome their own personal ugly cast of characters, like their fourth grade teacher who stymied their potential with a careless remark.

The worst of these are the ones that stop you from starting in the first place. A blank page is the bane of every writer. You’ve got to prime the pump. Simply start to spew whatever comes to mind and pretty soon the quality will improve. But don’t try to edit as you go, get that first draft down before you switch into nitpicking mode.

Lately I’ve been surrounded by creative inspiration. My kid has entered into a “Trashion Fashion” show. My sweetheart’s hand-cut wooden jigsaw puzzles are selling like hotcakes. And one of my sculpture students at The Crucible has completed the amazing octopus you see in the photo with me above.

This fellow in particular has been a real inspiration. He and his wife are a retired couple that took my class together on a hunch that they might enjoy doing a metalwork. Eight weeks of class and two lab sessions later, she has a large Zen meditation bell prepared for their garden and his octopus is ready for a new home on a boulder in their yard by the coast.

Helping people discover the creative spirit within is every bit as rewarding as creating something yourself. In a world where so many things seem out of our control, the creative spirit is one thing you can always rely on.

Much love and happy creating till next week!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine