Creativity, imagination and joy

What does it mean to be a creative person?

How do I cultivate imagination in a world so defined by rational and logical thought?

Why should I center joy in my life when there is so much pain and suffering in the world?

These questions have been tumbling around inside of me for quite a while, for years really. But in the last year creativity, imagination and joy have become a focal point for me. And in the moment, this topic feels especially timely as Sarah and I are headed to a creativity and writing workshop with Elizabeth Gilbert and Martha Beck in Toronto over the weekend. (When this is published, we will have just returned :))

For the longest time (until I was about 30 years old), I believed that “I wasn’t a creative person.” I had internalized the belief that creativity was for “those artsy people.” The people who could sing, draw, paint, write novels or act. I don’t remember exactly when that belief landed inside of me, but it festered and grew over the years. I tended to do fairly well academically and athletically so I put my focus into those areas. Finding achievement and approval through good grades, especially in science and through accomplishments in the sports I played.

Pursuing a career in medicine only deepened this belief. I focused all of my attention on rational and logical thought, explanations and evidence. I was taught to think critically, apply the scientific method and focus on the linear process of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. There didn’t appear to be very much space within our modern medical system for creativity and imagination.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

It seemed there was a very clear delineation between the “softer” subjects which are classified as the “humanities” such as art, philosophy, history, literature and cultural studies and the “hard” science subjects that I was a part of. The language we choose to use as we speak about the different topics or subjects is so interesting. Soft vs hard. Humanities vs Science. I found that some of my “softness” and “humanity” was buried deeply through the indoctrination process of obtaining degrees in science, medicine and working in healthcare.

Then around age 29 I started to unravel a bit. I began to question some of what I had been told and taught about myself and the world. I remember hearing Liz Gilbert on a podcast speaking about creativity and hearing her say that we are all inherently creative creatures. That creativity is part of what makes us human. I found her book Big Magic and started to rethink and unlearn some of those stories I had come to believe about myself.

Elizabeth Gilbert defines creativity as “the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration.”

Creativity as a relationship.

Creativity as mystery.

Creativity as inspiration and imagination.

I found Liz’s approach to creativity so playful, accessible and joyful. She provided a pathway for me to access my creativity again, to begin to rewrite a new story. Liz approaches creativity with reverence and also levity. She speaks of creative living as the journey of bringing forth the treasure hidden within you. That each and every one of us has inspiration, imagination, longings and desires inside of us that are just waiting to be brought forward.

Around the time I read that book I remember noticing a desire to play an instrument. I had never learned to play an instrument (unless you count the recorder in grade school) and didn’t know how to read music or carry a tune. I bought a used guitar off of craigs list and started plucking away at the strings. My brother, who had become a self-taught guitar player as an adult, gifted me some beginner books, and I was off.

learning to play guitar in 2017

The joy I experienced playing guitar alone in my house was immense! I learned a few simple songs, but a lot of the time I was just strumming, finding a rhythm and swaying. I played on and off for a bit and since then the habit has dropped to the wayside (for now). The importance of that experience was that it was a step towards dismantling the belief that “I wasn’t a creative” person. Playing guitar was a way to create something, to follow my longing, to play, to do something entirely unproductive and fun.

I began to see inspiration and imagination in many places in my life-cooking meals, tending my garden, teaching yoga classes, journaling, parenting, even working in healthcare. There were actually endless ways to be creative when working with patients, exploring different treatment options, finding ways to communicate and navigate relationships with my patients and also reimagining a healthcare system that would serve and empower every single person.

Fear, insecurity, comparison and perfectionism have shown up over the years (and continue to do so) as I engage with my creativity and imagination. Just the other day I was doodling in my journal. Immediately I noticed a voice saying, “you aren’t good at drawing, you are doing that “wrong.” Thankfully, I could see the voice clearly, a long-held belief still rooted within me and meet the critic and fear with compassion and tenderness. As I continued to draw, I noticed the creative energy surging within me, a force much stronger and more powerful than the smallness of fear or perfectionism.

random doodling in my journal

Over the years I have come to see the importance of creativity and imagination not only in my individual life but in the ways, we approach our collective care and systemic issues. I heard Tricia Hersey on a podcast a few years ago speaking about her work with the Nap Ministry and her book Rest is Resistance. She was speaking of the importance of rest, imagination and dreaming in our process of collective liberation. The oppressive systems we find ourselves in currently-capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism, homophobia, etc were imagined and dreamt up by someone at some point. We have the power to imagine and dream ourselves into a new future of collective care, freedom and joy.

Imagination and creativity are not just superfluous or fluffy activities for kids, “creatives” or artists. They are absolutely ESSENTIAL to our shared and individual humanity. adrienne maree brown writes in Pleasure Activism, “our radical imagination is a tool for decolonization, for reclaiming our right to shape our lived reality.” The process of reclaiming our individual and collective liberation lies in our soulful imagination, creativity, dream space and in our joy.

adrienne goes on to say, “yes is the way.” What brings us pleasure, joy and aliveness is the path forward. Now more than ever we need each and every one of us fully alive, awake, creative and in our joyful power to reimagine our future together.

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

These days my creative living looks like writing these posts, journaling and writing poems and spells. It looks like taking a pottery class, dancing at a hip-hop class, playing pickleball. It looks like walking through the forest and listening to/talking to the trees. It looks like connecting to my ancestors and participating in rituals that connect me to the unseen world. It is all of this and so much more.

I no longer believe, “I am not a creative person.” I believe creativity is my birthright and each day is an opportunity to reclaim that which was always there, just buried deeply waiting to be excavated.

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Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred.

What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all.

We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits.

We are terrified and we are brave.

Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege.

Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us.

Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise-you can make anything.

So please calm down now and get back to work, okay?

The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.

-Elizbeth Gilbert in Big Magic

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What beliefs do you hold around creativity and imagination?

What does creative living look like in your life? What is inspiring you currently?

What gets in the way of accessing creativity, imagination and joy?

What might you say “yes” to in this moment?

Thanks for reading. We would love to hear from you and what your experience is like with creativity and creative living!

-Shandra