What this section is all about - June 22, 2010
I really felt compelled to start a new folder on the frustration that is creativity! We ALL feel it. "Successful" or not, it's there with everyone. I know I've felt it. I still feel it! Everyday it's there swirling around our brains telling us lies like "this isn't working, just give up, you're not good enough". These are lies and we know it. But sometimes the voice is too loud and we leech onto it.
And then in time the lies become your friend. Because what we do (write, paint, sing, act, dance, etc.) is not easy. There is no one there to tell you how to do it. We're all "winging it" because each path of creativity is different from the last. And to believe the lie that you're not good enough or, my favorite, "it's not worth it", is easier. And then we slip.
We lose sight of our dream because it's just too big to hold onto. We deny that we even wanted it in the first place. We take back all of our hopes for the future and settle into an existence that we know in the back of our mind is not enough. Living a "normal" life without our craft will never be enough. We will never be truly happy because that nagging pestering dream of our "what if" will always be there reminding us of what we walked away from.
We hide under the umbrella of a "normal" existence but it feels forced. We tell ourselves "this is better anyways", or "why should I try when no one seems to be listening or paying attention?"
We give up.
So what is it going to be? Do we take the easy/comfortable road where we know that we can escape from any damage to our hearts? Or do we fight for what we know we were put on this earth to do?
There's no guarantees. It will be hard and taxing and take everything out of us to achieve. We'll lose sleep and probably be broke most of the time. But is this the only thing that will make us happy?
If you answered yes YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!!
I have gotten a lot of emails recently about these frustrations and I felt it only fair to write on this. I will update this folder as often as I can and I encourage all of you out there to contribute. This is a universal subject and I KNOW all of you have felt this way at one point or another.
Email me at jeanna@jeannamurphy.com and tell me what's on your mind. I'll post it and hopefully we can get a forum of sorts started.
Whether you're in the thick of it right now battling your lies or whether you're a "seasoned pro" in shutting them up, I want to hear from all of you.
Until next time..... keep writing, painting, singing, acting, dancing, etc!!! NEVER STOP!!!
Jeanna