Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. —Marianne Williamson
Creative Power
When we accept and own ourselves as creative people, we are accepting incredible power. We have the power to create worlds and shape minds. And this begins with the stories we tell ourselves. When we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough or that we are wasting our time, we are crafting that reality for ourselves.
A Single Star
There is a famous story about a man walking along a beach where thousands of starfish have washed ashore. A young girl stands at the edge of the water. One by one, she takes each starfish nearby and tosses it into the ocean. The man looks at the vast number of starfish and asks the girl, “Why are you wasting your time? You can’t possibly make a difference.” She looks at him steadily and then bends to pick up another starfish. She hurls it as far as she can into the ocean, where it lands with a plop and sinks. Then she turns to the man and replies, “I made a difference to that one.”
And, of course, she made a difference to someone else: she made a difference to herself.
Changing The World
The fact is that changing the world is a huge, impossible task. And yet, each one of us is a world unto ourselves. The way we experience the world is the world to us. If you change the way someone experiences the world, you will have changed the world for them. By doing creative work, you will change your own world, and you will start to embrace power that you never knew you had.
I’m not talking about The Secret or some woo-woo belief that positive thoughts make magic happen. I am simply talking about how positive beliefs about our own power lead us to think deeply and take risks, and these creative risks can lead to positive actions, and actions lead to outcomes. If you believe that you have no power, that nothing you do creatively will matter, then you will not do the work and you will not reap the benefits.
At its simplest, the benefits will be a sense of peace, a sense of mastery, improved focus, and better mood. You will definitely learn to understand yourself and the world around you better. It’s possible that you will inspire others. It’s possible that you will make them laugh; it’s possible that you will help them feel connected to someone else, to realize that their experience is not unique in the world, that others have gone through the same things they are going through. It’s possible that you will create a masterpiece.
But you will never do those things if you do not start with the very simple task of believing that creative work is important, and that you are important, and that it is not simply that you are “worthy” but that, in fact, human beings were built to be creative.
Creativity is the work of our ancestors, and it must be our work, as well. The universe was literally created from nothing. Both science and religion tell the same story. In the beginning, there was nothing. And then...light.
