You are creative.

Would you believe me?

Being creative is to see. To find connections between two completely separate things, and bring them into a new combination. To see possibilities. How a few lines of text together with a picture quickly becomes a powerful expression, where the combined message is so much stronger than the two as separates. Being creative is also when you capture that thought, the one that just slightly brushes the top of your head. And when you quickly scrabble it down on a piece of paper before it disappears. Just like that. Without rejecting it. 

There comes a time for evaluation and questioning of the first raw version. But not now. An idea must be able to exist in the phase as a Shitty First Draft. Perhaps you leave it in a drawer for a year to mature. And one year later you find it again and you give it new life. Or it’s just right and you have to take the chance right now with this one.

Well, this knowledge is tricky. But I know this: You are creative when you allow yourself to be free for a while. One thing doesn’t always have to lead to another. 

it’s ok.

I am creative. That’s one thing I know. I know it by how my mind connects one thought to another and I see a link. I have practiced to give my thoughts a lot of space. To allow them to fly around without being valued or refused. I trust that there will come a day when they will work, or lead to something even better.

Some people tell me that they are so far off from being a creative person, even though they would really like to be. ”I’m happy to see that painting is your thing, but I do NOT have that within me”. Or ”I wish I was more creative…”

It’s one thing if you are not-at-all interested, but I would still like to say that we all have creativity within ourselves. Unfortunately some of us were silenced as kids, where grown ups said things like you don’t sing very well, or that you don’t color inside the lines, or that you lack imagination…

That makes me tear up. That something was broken within when you were little.

Creative is one of my value words of myself that I’m proud of and that makes me happy. I would like to spread that feeling to others. To those who want more. Because creativity doesn’t have to involve painting, knitting or writing music. It can be. But it’s also present when you cook without recipe, plant stuff in your garden, decorate your home, journal, write a bucket list, make an outline for a presentation, write a speech, dance or sing. That’s you being creative. One thought gives birth to another. You put them together and try to find the line of argument or the common denominator, or just to see if it looks good together.

I believe that we all have the ability to be creative, but it’s up to you, if you want, to let your mind run free. And if you would like to, we can practice together. Set your mind free, only for a little while. See what you find.

Please believe that.
It’s right there within you.