Featured Image: Seth McMahon‘s “Will to Rise”
To all of my fellow artists out there – keep going! Don’t let jealousy, uncertainty, scarcity, the opinions of others, a sense of inadequacy or lack of time stop you. There is always something that you and only you can do. Your unique ability to create is always in you, even when it feels like it’s not. By creating, no matter how small the brush stroke, you are doing something absolutely invaluable.
When you don’t feel like picking up a guitar, a pen, whatever your tool of choice, that’s okay. I think kindness is an art too. Movement can be an art. Living life with vibrance and gratitude, breathing with intention, and the words you choose in a difficult moment can be forms of art. Sex can be art. Art is what happens when consciousness chooses to express itself with the intent of creating something beautiful (and of course, beauty is subjective – choose what is beautiful to you).
If you feel creatively blocked, find something simple to do to express yourself, in a way that rekindles your sense of joy in creating. Even if it’s just sketching on a napkin, or singing in the shower, go for it. Sometimes, I just go on a walk with my field recorder and grab random sounds for later, or photograph a crystal. The simpler the activity, the better. Whatever you do, just keep that channel open. If you forget, that’s okay – it is always there to dial into. This is why it’s important not to let that sense of guilt from not creating stop you, either. It happens, and you’ll bounce back. Forgive and love yourself through your creativity as it ebbs and flows.
Also remember to extend love and forgiveness to those who say your art is a waste of time. They are forgetting that revolutions in the arts go hand-in-hand with revolutions in culture and consciousness, and that it is a major tenant of what it is to be human. In this light I see the explosion of art we have been witnessing over the past few years as an immense indicator that something incredible is happening – not that humanity is becoming lazy, self-centered or self-indulgent. Art is an ancient, intrinsic means of metabolizing the unknown, both for ourselves and for our brothers, sisters and fellow spirits. It has always been there and always will be.
In life, I feel art is akin to alchemy. It is perhaps one of the greatest tools in humanity’s existential toolbox. Art is like an earthquake, emerging from tectonic shifts in social structure, technology and change. When we harness this energy, we can move mountains. So, whenever you encounter challenges great and small, even that same jealousy and uncertainty I mentioned above, remember: keep going! Keep creating. Keep loving.
