CREATING IN DISRUPTIVE TIMES
I have said it many times, to my colleagues, to my friends, and lately to my mum when we were talking about how to get through life positively and healthily despite all the negative news and disruptions.
FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU CREATE. KEEP DOING AND DEVELOPING IT.
Don’t just consume art, food, music, cultures, places, or fashion.
This is my mantra, this is my meditation, this is my medicine. If you ask me, this is probably my religion. Of course, I have been through disruptive times, especially lately again. And I’m realising even more now how powerful and healing my approach is. That’s why I write this down here. And I will teach you, step by step, how to start creating and stop consuming.
As a first step, let me list here the main benefits of my approach:
It creates a feeling of contentment and happiness. I don’t feel depressed and I think that my art plays a vital role in that. Even when I feel disconnected from my loved ones, which can always happen as we go through life and live in different cultures, I turn to create abstract paintings and connect to me again first. What happens here is that I make myself and how I feel about myself independent from outside factors such as the recognition and attention we get from the people around us. I give all the attention myself. Feels good.
It creates a feeling of being needed. I’ve just learned that in the US, every 30 minutes a man dies of suicide. It turned out that by analysing goodby notes and letters the words most often used were worthless and useless. Earlier this year, I was also facing a situation in which a man admitted to me that he felt like a loser. It creates a pretty heavy weight on our shoulders when we think about it, and it is very sad to witness. The feeling of having our place in society and being needed is rooted deeply in us humans, and I know that these days, lots of souls feel lost and have no idea how to handle their lives going forward. In school, I was an outcast and not the popular one. But what I did was invest all my time into writing stories, painting, singing, and sports. I learned something, I saw an investment in my skillset that I can use later. That kept me motivated and I felt less. If you create, you teach yourself skills, and believe me, they will come in handy later.
It creates a feeling of control. This world right now seems to go bonkers all the time. It probably always did but I look at it with different eyes now. Most of us realise how dependent we are on technology, corporations, corruption, governments, our jobs, and confirmation from others… For those who feel they have lost control because they feel stuck in their jobs, careers, and maybe even in their families and relationships, I would recommend looking somewhere else and starting a personal project they have control over. Ideally, find something that won’t cost you much money, this is where your creativity is asked. I always told myself to keep writing and drawing. For this, I need paper and a pen which are not expensive.
It creates a feeling of accomplishment. This connects to the feeling of worthiness and contentment. Social media is loud about how accomplished people should look like these days. Most of the influencers are still huge consumers, not producers or creatives. But I love those people who recognise an opportunity and because they started A, they came to build B which could be product or art. A few years ago, I started to assign projects to myself. That way I have to have a plan, and a timeline helping me to create the results and outcomes I want. For instance, the coffee table book. That was a project I gave myself last year. And by just looking at and holding the physical copy of my book in my hands, is making me very content, and accomplished. It’s an ongoing project but already a powerful one, no one can take away from me.
Now, let’s have a look at you. Would the creative approach be something for you? And if you need help to start somewhere, reach out to me, let’s have a conversation!
