The Dichotomy of Creation
The Dichotomy of Creation
What you create must mean everything and nothing.
“My creative expression must be the most important thing in the world to me (if I am to live artistically), and it also must not matter at all (if I am to live sanely).” — Elizabeth Gilbert
Can the act of creation mean everything and nothing?
I must admit I am clingy with my creations and the process that begets them. I embrace each creation like a loving parent full of unconditional love. I am fiercely protective and unwilling to let them go. I cannot bear the thought of criticism or loss.
But I must let them go. Otherwise, my love will smother them. And I will dwell in the past... stargazing at what once was and not what will be. My creations will define me while having no identity of their own. I will be a slave to the critics and their expectations.
So if I am to create without limits while living free of regret, the act of creation must mean everything and nothing. I must live for my creations in the moment. I must separate myself from them in the next. From caring to not caring in the blink of an eye... that is what I must do for the sake of my creations and my own sanity.
How do I let go?
I start with an awareness of the Universe and its abundance. There is no shortage of ideas. There is no end in my ability to create. There is no limit to the creations I send out into the world. Dwelling on one delays the next.
Creations are living things... each one imbued with love and meaning. They must make their own way once I release them. Perhaps some of that love and meaning will transfer to others.
I continue with my own evolution and impermanence. I am a being constantly in flux. Each creation is an expression of who I am in the moment. And then I am something else entirely in the next. Creating has this transformative effect of change, adaptation and growth.
The ebb and flow of creation is never easy, but it is necessary. I celebrate them all while dwelling on none.
🤔 Food for Thought:
What do your creations mean to you?
Are you clingy with them?
Or do you set them free?
⚙️ One Small Step:
Imagine your creative expression as a game of creator pong... constantly bouncing between mattering and not mattering at all. A creation matters in the moment, and then you move on to another in the next. You must let go to move on.