How's Your He(art) today? ❤️
I've been stuck in a rut.
Not physically. Physically I am in a village outside of Barcelona and absolutely loving my wandering life. After my Morocco venture ended, I picked up Jean Genie, my 2006 Citroen minivan and be-bopped my way to a converted barn in the French Pyrenees to hang out with Moka, an adorable dog, for a few weeks.
And a few days ago, I began moving south to Spain. Follow the sun is my new life motto, and has so far been working out beautifully…
Except for that rut I mentioned…
The Writing Rut
You see, I have all these things I want to say about living an alternative lifestyle and exiting the matrix — the challenges you’ll face, the mindset shifts that will have to happen first, and the endless rewards that come once you start making steps towards your reality — but every time I write I feel like I’m turning a blinds eye to the atrocities going on around the world. I feel myself comparing my journey with those who are literally starving or no longer have a home due to conflict and suddenly what I have to say doesn’t seem that important.
As an attempt to dull my racing thoughts the other day, I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and came across a profile I had recently started following called @motherwortandrose - and like a beacon of hope there was a post with the following quotes in succession:
““Part of being a revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane. That is more fun, too. That is more loving. It’s really working to create something beautiful. “”
““You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.””
““In the midst of death, art requires a distinct and mystical courage. An audacity that says not only do I have a right to exist, but I believe my existence will add to the fabric of the universe. I will make.””
Upon reading the quotes I started to cry.
If you, too, feel overwhelmed with sadness when you watch the news. If you feel hopeless and like nothing really matters, I want you to re-read those quotes again. And then I want you to create. I want you to transmute your sadness, your confusion, and your pain into art. And then I want you to share it with someone you love.
Your art may look like a creamy ass casserole, and sharing it might mean showing up on your neighbor’s doorstep with a steamy plate of goodness. Your art may be a messy collage with newspaper clippings, old photographs of you as a kid, and stick glue and sharing it might look like sending a screenshot to your bestie (see the collage I sent to my bestie above, LOL). Wherever your heart is, whatever your art is, I want you to create.
We are complex creatures that are capable of holding many feelings at the same time; terror and joy, wonder and disgust, compassion and disdain. In these trying times, be careful not to numb out too long on Instagram or Netflix, but be more careful not to deny yourself the pleasures of being in a human body. That includes creating art and thus creating a more beautiful world in the process.
The world needs a reason to smile right now and your art just might be a reason to do so.
Are you creating as much as you wished you were? Why or why not?
You Are a Creative Creator Creating Your Own Creations
The next time you think “Oh I’m not that creative” can you just shut your pie hole? You are so creative that you just created this belief that you were not creative! Get out of here with that mess!
Seriously though…you are creating your own reality each and every day. From the moment your eyes pop open and you immediately grab your phone to check your messages/scroll through Instagram, you are creating your reality. Each person’s early morning reality will look slightly different depending on which influencers you follow. Personally, I prefer strictly meme accounts.
The things you wear, the foods you eat, and the songs you listen to on Spotify have all been created — by you. Though you may have not woven your own underpants, you certainly picked them out, and if you didn’t pick them out “Thanks Grandma!” then you certainly made the choice to put them on your bare ass and if you didn’t make the choice to put them on your bare ass then you certainly made the choice to share a house with someone who gets joy from putting the handwoven underpants your grandma made you on your bare ass.
You Are a Creator!
And you are a damn good one. But you don’t need me to tell you that because you already know!
Now I know what you’re probably thinking,
“I didn’t create this massive nose on the front of my face.”
No, but you created the idea that it was a bad one, one not worthy of love or spontaneous selfies.
“I didn’t create all these evil things happening in the world.”
No, but you created a pattern where you only focus on the negative headlines in the media instead of connecting with real humans and listening to their stories.
“I didn’t create this cold ass weather.”
No, but you created this negative thought! Haven’t you ever heard of fuzzy socks, hot cocoa, and puzzles? Invite a friend over under these conditions and bet me you wouldn’t have fun. BET ME! YOU WOULDN’T DARE!
The point is, we ARE creators. We create our perceptions, our surroundings, and our thoughts. We are such good creators that our thoughts go on to create our reality!
Because we have the power to create— we also have the power to destroy. We can easily destroy something that isn’t working for us anymore like a negative thought pattern or a limiting belief. You literally don’t have to do ANYTHING you don’t want to. You don’t have to stay in a toxic relationship, get hammered on the weekend, shave your armpits, or even recycle.
I’m saying all of this because I believe in you. I believe in everyone. We all have the power to create a beautiful life for ourselves if only we believe we are the ones driving our own bus. Now put on your captain’s hat and pull up your big girl panties, it’s GO TIME, goddamnit! Get out there and CREATE!!
If you’re still not convinced, try the following exercise to evoke the magical creator inside
1/ First, put this song on, the louder the better!
2/ Now take out a pen and piece of paper and write one limiting belief or negative thought you might have about yourself or the world. An example of a limiting belief would be, “I am not good with money.”
3/ Now write down the desired action followed by what you need to do to achieve it.
“I WILL be good with money once I create the environment that supports this desire.”
4/ Now write down three actions you can take to create that very environment:
Read an article about budgeting.
Take a workshop on budgeting.
Practice an attitude of gratitude - every time you feel like you don’t have enough money, write down 10 things you are absolutely grateful to have.
There you have it - you’ve started creating a new environment that will produce the fruits you actually desire. You are such a creative creator. Well done!