I often write things that I never share. I found this today as I was looking at all of my unnamed documents. I love how the theme of creativity keeps showing up (I started writing about it four years ago!) as I continue to think of ways to explore creativity in my life and encourage others to do the same.
Here’s my writing from October 2020:
Have you ever been outside of your comfort zone but at the same time deeply aware that your life in that moment will be forever changed? That was me on October 5, 2020, the day of our first Generation Circle. I now understand how it might feel to be an artist showing their work to the public for the first time. For me, this event filled me with a mixture of excitement, pride, and fear.
Through the creation process, I carried a strong idea of how I wanted the storytelling event to feel and what I wanted the audience to take home with them. Yet, there are always unknown variables when it comes to creating anything.
We are generally not a part of this creative process and often only see the final product. We do not see the complexity of emotions and all the undercurrents of what goes on behind the scenes.
It is a complex question of how much of my experience I should share with others. In the past, the general rule would be to not share the process at all and just show the shiny and beautiful end product. To me, this is a disservice to others because it is highly likely that if you are putting yourself out there, you are going to “fail,” and when this happens, intense emotions and questions can occur.
The last Generation Circle was AMAZING, and that is why the October event was so life-changing for me. It was the outcome of a lot of inner work and discovery around failing and never giving up. I will never be the same.
If you are friends or family of someone creating anything… ANYTHING… encourage them. Ask them questions about what they are doing and how you can support them. We ALL have something to give, and the more that we encourage one another in this beautiful yet terrifying process, the more we will become okay with putting ourselves out there and letting the world see who we really are.