I have already mentioned a few times that I believe creativity has a big role to play in happiness, wellbeing and self-actualisation. I thought it was time to elaborate on that a bit.
Here’s what I believe
I believe that the universe is inherently creative. It is creating all the time. New life, growth, colour in an almost unimaginable array, variety so deeply intricate we had to invent special technology to be able to perceive it, newness and change and evolution all of the time. Constantly.
I believe that we are inherently creative beings. We’ve been telling stories and making art (in order to communicate stories and ideas) for as long as we know about. We make tools and clothing and homes and ever-developing technology. We make sense of the world, and ourselves, through the things that we make. We’re not the only creative beings on this planet, but we do seem to have a special zeal for it.
I believe that this creativity brings us together. Our stories, our art, our sharing of our creations helps forge communities. They help us to understand one another. They help us to define and articulate ourselves. They help us to clarify what we believe in, what we care about, and to connect to others who care about the same things. They allow us to give and to receive, setting foundations for community relationships. It’s these relationships that have enabled us to survive as a species in the face of smarter, stronger rivals.
I believe that creativity is an act that brings us in tune with the creative powers of nature. I believe that it allows us to channel the creative force that flows through the universe, that flows through all of us, and to give back to our world by using that energy for creations of our own. I believe that through creativity we express, and therefore learn and nurture, the very deepest essence of who we are, and we see and connect to the essence of others. I believe that creativity is how we serve our world, our communities, and our selves.
Creating life
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that some of the hardest points in our lives are often the ones when we’re most driven to create.
I used to buy into the “tortured artist” idea. That all creatives were dealing with pain and misery. That maybe artists were more prone to mental health issues than most people. Until I realised it’s the other way around. Pain and suffering make you more driven to create. To express how you’re feeling and channel that energy into something that can help you process it, and help others feel seen and validated too.
I almost gave up writing for a while. I thought that it was “too late” for me to be a “proper writer”, that it was too hard to make a living at writing, that “people like me” don’t get published, and all the stories that society tries to plant in our brains about art. Then my first child was born. I was recovering from pre-natal depression, starting a new business with a three-month-old baby because I found I couldn’t go back to my old job, and navigating life as a new mother. There was a lot going on. But suddenly I found I couldn’t stop writing. The words were pouring out of me, I hadn’t been so inspired in years. I didn’t understand what was going on, I just knew I had to write.
Now I see it. There was no other way for me to process all of that intense emotion, or to navigate the huge shift in my sense of identity, than to create. By rediscovering my creativity, I explored this new me, found a way to express how I was feeling, and started to make sense of the world again.
Living creatively
A wide range of studies have shown that creativity increases happiness and wellbeing. Yet we’re sold this idea that creativity is just for “proper” artists, these semi-mythical beings that have been endowed with great gifts that the rest of us can only dream of. Creativity is treated as something special that we have to have bestowed upon us.
I call bullsh*t.
We’re all creative, and we can all be creative every day.
There’s no good or bad in creativity, there’s just experimentation and expression. Some people might like some of the stuff you create. Some people won’t because it doesn’t resonate with them or they’re not on your wavelength. But that isn’t the point. You don’t even have to show any of it to anyone. You’re not doing it for anyone else, unless you choose to gift it to someone else. You’re just creating, because you’re a creative being, and part of a creative universe.
We can all live creative lives. In fact, given the wealth of evidence for how much good it does us, we all should live creative lives. And we all can integrate creativity into our daily lives by letting go of these hang-ups about who is allowed to be creative and what constitutes creativity and how worthy the end product is, and just going for it.
Yes, I know, that’s easier said than done.
We all have that voice in our heads. Mine is the teacher who, when I was eight-years-old, full on screamed at me in front of the whole class for how “bad” my drawing was. Then held it up for everyone to see and made fun of it so that the other kids laughed. I told myself, and anyone else who would listen, the story that I was “bad at art” for years. And years, and years. Right up until this year, in fact. I went to an art workshop run by a friend. Originally I turned down the invite, because “I’m bad at art”. “We’re not going to be making that kind of art,” she told me. “This is the kind of art you made as a small child. We’re going to get messy, and we’re not going to care about what it looks like.” In the end, I figured this was probably what I needed to get me out of my head about painting and drawing. So I did it. Now I can’t stop painting. I’ve discovered an intense joy in sloshing paint onto paper and letting whatever I’m feeling flow with it. I don’t try to make anything look pretty, but I actually quite like what I’ve ended up with! But that’s not the point. The point is, it makes me feel good. It helps me channel feelings that I need to get out or make sense of. And it’s just fun.
Creative sparks
I want everyone to be able to free themselves of those limiting stories about creativity, and to integrate small creative acts into their day-to-day lives. Living creatively doesn’t have to mean quitting your job and setting up an art studio. It can just be small, simple practices that enable you to make sense of your world, and maybe bring some beauty into it.
So with that in mind, I’ve introduced a new Section to this Substack. Instead of adding a “Creative Spark” onto the end of each of my regular newsletters (as I have been doing up until now), I’m not going to send out a weekly newsletter completely dedicated to facilitating that regular creative practice.
If you’re already subscribed to I Am Happy, then you’ll get your Creative Spark every Saturday. If you’re not, then hit the button below to get on the list and receive prompts, guides, resources and inspiration for living a creative life straight to your inbox every week!
I’m excited to take this journey with you, and I can’t wait to see what you create.
🔥”Yet we’re sold this idea that creativity is just for “proper” artists, these semi-mythical beings that have been endowed with great gifts that the rest of us can only dream of. Creativity is treated as something special that we have to have bestowed upon us.” 🔥
I’ve been trying to explain this for years to my students. They’ve been sold on the belief that artists are born with a silver brush in their chubby baby fingers and everyone else can only make a fer blue attempt at art. No! Born with more desire to create, probably. More drive earlier in life, perhaps. But 95% still struggle daily to improve through practice. Anyone can grow and learn! 👍🏻
I absolutely love this post Allegra - I love your exploration of creativity, from that of nature (one of the reasons I called my daughter Lila which means the play of the universe in Sanskrit!) down to our individual informal practices. I am very much looking forward to your Creative Spark posts, it's just what I need!