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Most people I know want to be more creative in their lives.
I’m an artist, writer, and art therapist though, so my life is likely more skewed to having more creative types in it.
Regardless, I am fascinated by the amount of people who want to create something and share it with the world. For example, I sometimes tell others that I write regularly on Medium. Many are intrigued by what I do, ask lots of questions, and then become writers themselves there.
What is it that compels us to bring forth what is in us and share it with the world?
There is value in creating just for the sake of self (I wrote a whole essay on it here), and yet there is also value in sharing our creations with others.
It makes sense to me. We as humans value connection and understanding. We want to be seen and heard.
There is also tension that comes up in me. I think of influencers and content creators. I am uneasy about the idea of creativity FOR the sake of others. Creativity that is fueled by what others might like or what could get the most views. There seems something dangerous and disingenuous in this.
And yet, I find myself falling into similar paths. I only share essays on Linked-In that I think my audience there will resonate with. On Medium, I’ve noticed that my autism essays get far more reads. I now try to release at least one autism essay a day. The good news is I’ve already written them. But what about when I run out of autism essays? Will I start writing more just because that is what is popular?
As an autistic, my mind does crave some clear boundaries or guidelines in this realm.
How do I keep my creativity coming from my soul?
How do I recognize when I’ve stepped too far off the path?
What is the line between creativity and using it to financially sustain my life?
I also have to acknowledge another autistic thing happening here… I’m trying to plan now to protect myself in the future. All is well and fine now, but I am clearly worrying about the future.
Instead, if I can trust my creative self, I can trust that I will be able to handle anything that comes up in the future. I can trust that my creative soul will alert me if I’ve stepped too far off the path.
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