The Reason I Believe Creativity is the Ultimate Form of Self-Care

It took me time to admit something I have believed to be true for a while – creative energy and life energy have the same source. I’m not sure why this took me so long to admit. Perhaps it has to do with my journey to repair my spiritual life. For a bit there, it was hard to admit such energies exist at all. But now I know the spark that calls me to create is the same spark the keeps me breathing, keeps me questioning, keeps me seeking. I create because I have been created. It is something I innately know how to do.

In his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin writes, “Creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright. And it’s for all of us.” Many times, I have witnessed people who would not call themselves “writers” or “artists” leave my writing circles understanding that they have a creative ability within them.  Creativity is not some unique talent that only a rare few are chosen to receive; it is the expression of authenticity and personal experience. It is an individual’s unique perspective, and their use of that perspective to shape the existence around them – to bring something new into being.

One thing I will say about creativity is that it requires the creative person to learn more about themselves, to seek their own inner knowing. This is not easy. Sometimes, this means we have to take a hard look at what resides inside so we can bring that out into the physical world. This will ask us to look at parts of ourselves that are still tender with pain, parts of us that need healing. Sometimes, this asks us to look at what we don’t want to identify with – the parts of us that are capable of feeling jealousy, anger, hatred, shame, loneliness. It will ask us to bear witness to everything it means to be human, and then (if we are truly listening to the call) it will ask us to be VULNERABLE by sharing all of that messiness with the rest of the world.

When I decided to jump back into writing, I was going through the hardest period of my life – divorce, dealing with decisions I had made, receiving a PTSD diagnosis, finding new places to live. I was fundamentally questioning all of my beliefs and my entire existence. Writing became one of the only ways to understand everything I was feeling. I joined a writing group, started sharing what I was going through, and I was SEEN. I found other’s who related to my journey, who let me know I wasn’t alone, who encouraged and helped grow my creative skills. In sharing, I learned that my voice is valuable and deserves to take up space. I will forever be grateful.

Being creative became my fundamental path of self-discovery. It became the lens with which I rebuilt my entire world. As I began exploring myself in this way, I started exploring other methods of healing – meditation, therapy, breathwork… After some time, I finally started seeing my blocks, feeling my flows, and understanding the way life is moving beautifully through me. The more I explored this, the more my creativity flourished. I was able to take all the pain I experienced and began to transmute that into art. Into beacons of light that could call out to others experiencing the same thing.

Creativity not only led me back to myself; it led me back to community. I’ve never been so held and supported as I have been in creative communities. In a world determined to burn bridges, it became my means of finding the humanity and compassion in others. Creativity led me back to a more spiritual life. I began understanding the energies that exist within this universe. Most importantly, I began to feel my place in it. I began to see how this energy flows through me and into what I create. I began to understand that I create to deepen my connection with myself, my community, and the world.