July "I Believe" Challenge - Day 8: Creativity (and Day 9)

(and Day 9:  Exercise)
I believe it's good for you.  I believe I don't do enough.  And we'll talk about that some more tomorrow with failure....

And now on to more fun things.  Creativity.  What do I believe about creativity?

For most of my adult life, right up until the last few years, I would have been one of those people who said "I am not creative".  I tended to operate in the logical, intellectual realm and rarely get below my neck.  I admired creativity in other people, but pretty much refused to acknowledge it in myself.

All that has changed DRAMATICALLY in these past few years.  Getting in touch with me, digging deep, honoring feeling, learning to really be with and listen to another have unleashed my creativity at a level I've probably never known before - or at least not since I was young enough to be freely creative without censure.

Most of my creativity revolves around writing - and this blog has been an outlet for that creativity.  But I use creativity in other ways in my life too, ways I had never acknowledged before.  I'm creative in my mothering.  I'm creative in relationship.  I'm creative in connection and community.

I believe we are ALL creative.  Some of us may have had that creative ability discounted at some point in our lives and stopped believing in it.  But I really feel that as we move toward our most authentic selves, our creativity is unleashed.  It may manifest itself in "traditional" creative outlets like music, art, and writing - or it may show up in the most unexpected places.

I believe that creativity flourishes in collaboration and these online communities we are CREATING encourage all of us to step into our own creative in large and small ways.

I believe that honoring our creativity is essential in being whole and authentic human beings.  Repressing or denigrating our own creativity hampers us in the quest to be who we really are.

I believe that creativity is the language of our souls, and the more fluently we learn to speak it, the more we are able to communicate and connect with the souls of others.

I believe creativity requires honesty and sometimes engages our fears on their very deepest levels.  It takes enormous courage to be creative and then share that creativity with the world.

I believe creativity is the light and music and air of our lives and the world is dull and flavorless without it.

I believe creativity connects us all.