As children, we loved to create. There was no such thing as boredom. I could imagine worlds so easily.
With time though, I became a consumer. A consumer of media: cartoons, movies, TV shows, web series, etc. I lost my ability to keep myself occupied.
Nowadays, when I finish my work for the day and my daughter is asleep, I just want to “tune out” the world and watch some TV. I see myself primarily as a consumer of things.
But what would happen if I no longer had the crutch of consumption? Can I make myself someone who can imagine again? Who can create again?
For me, creating after a long day of work and parenting is about bringing back calm to my space. A sense of enoughness. A sense of spaciousness.
These things cannot happen if I am trying to “hustle” and “grind”. Space and calm come from enjoying the creative process.
So, I sit down with my pen and paper. Keyboards and screen add a mechanical precision to writing which wants to be languid, loose, freeing. So I write manually. All with the intention of sharing my work with no one at all.
Nothing will feel more satisfying than just a night with a pen and paper. Or whatever your medium is. For my wife, it’s her watercolours. Maybe for you it’s ceramics.
Want to free your inner artist? Don’t do it for anyone else. Do it for you.
This post for a reminder for me to create with the audience of just one: me.