A wise blogger friend of mine recently said 'creativity is like a puppy' (thank you Rhianna for this amazing analogy). It truly is. As stubborn as one, as needy as one and to anyone who owns it, as adored and valuable.
Rhianna highlighted in her post the importance of looking after your creativity. I read this post while coming to the end of, of course, my current favourite read, 'Big Magic'.
I've talked about this amazing book a little here and here. I believe it to be an essssssential read to anyone standing on their own two metaphorically creative feet. Somewhere in that plethora of goodness, Liz Gilbert mentions "if you are alive, you are a creative person". She talks in such an inspiring way which makes you dig out the memories of poems past and paintings present, to look inside yourself and make you want to patch up that relationship with your creativity, further your passion.
An important thing to understand is that no matter how much you nurture your passion, you will always go through a rough patch. Y'know what? You might even nurture it enough to smother it. Ever over-watered plants and watched them die? *come back lil herbs I still love you*
It's okay to give yourself a break from your passion if you need to. If you see it wilting, or you're relying on it, spending everyday with it and getting bored, have a break. Ross and Rachel the sh*t out of your passion. Sleep with another passion. Take up something else for a while if you must- your passions don't require monogamy. Your passions won't leave you in the night because you decided to dabble in oil painting or Podcast making (though your partner might if you're talking to a microphone constantly at three in the morning).
Inspiration is the food you should feed it and everyone's taste is different! We all have our own palettes, it just takes a while to discover what sets a fire in you and what doesn't. Look at a million different things and plant those seeds because eventually an idea will grow, which you must grab while you can.
You can't make your passions run around after you 24/7, but exercise them regularly!
I once visited the studio of an artist in the Lake District who told me she 'makes a mark every day, even if it's just one line on a piece of paper'.
Her walls were strewn with huge colourful, messy canvases, shelves were lined with sketchbooks (goals af) and she seemed pretty content to me. Creativity radiated from in her home so I soaked up as muuuuuuch as I could, the only reason you're hearing this story now!
So feed your passion a little everyday, flex it, squeeze it, tell it that it's in your thoughts, value it and it will never die or leave you.
What are you passionate about? Is there anything new you'd like to try?
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