A Call to Creativity

As I sat down to write this, I exhaled a sigh of relief. Finally, my moment to release, to create, to express.

I’d been tossing the idea of this post around in my mind for a couple of days before I actually took the time to sit down and write. It started after a familiar feeling rose within— I don’t know about you, but when my body’s telling me something, I often feel it in my gut, smack-dab in the center, just below my chest, above my abdomen. I’d like to think of this space as where my “inner knowing” or gut feeling resides.

A couple of days ago, I felt this familiar tingle. The only way I can describe it is the feeling you get when you are sitting at the top of a high drop on a rollercoaster, that nervous-cited feeling (but less alarming than it feels on a rollercoaster), make sense? This tingle is always trying to tell me something, and most times, I get what it’s trying to tell me, all wrong.

This feeling usually pops up at the top of my day, when I am writing out my to-dos in my planner, thinking through my plans, or having a conversation with my husband about our family’s plans for the week ahead. Because of the usual timing of the tingle, I used to recognize it as a call to action, a reminder that there is something important I need to do, an item I need to check off my list, or, worst, something I forgot to do or check off my list.

So, this time, as I sat, staring out of my window, thinking about the items on my to-do list (buy snacks for school lunches, send an email about a new project, go through the box of mail I’ve been meaning to sort for 3 weeks), that familiar feeling rose, just where it always does. And, this time, because I have been attempting to listen to my body more closely and ask myself a few clarifying questions before springing to react to feelings, I learned that what I was being called to do was not “DO MORE STUFF,” and, instead, “EXPRESS YOURSELF.”

Now, how the heck did I come to this conclusion?

Well, of course, I have been doing some reading (if you’re new here, I am a big book nerd, and especially love topics around psychology, wellness, mental health, self-care, and self-help), and in one of my recent reads, Beyond Anxiety by Martha Beck, I have learned that sometimes when anxiety rises, in this case my anixety to get sh*t done, it may actually be a call to creativity, to express ourselves, to be our most authentic selves and to take up space.

With this in mind, when my call to productivity began to nag, I took a moment to think (those clarifying questions I mentioned earlier)—

What am I feeling? A need to ‘do.’

Where am I feeling it? In my lower chest and upper belly.

If I just breathe for a second and send attention and air to this part of my body, what is it telling me? I am looking for the release, the exhale, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with productivity.

Okay, fine, but when’s the last time you focused your energy on something you love or enjoy? (Thinking back to my reading) —Could this be a call to creativity? Aha.

So, here I am, friends. Sharing this with you. Pouring myself into something creative that I love— my writing, sharing ideas, and connecting.

Now, this might seem a bit ‘woo-woo’ to you, and I understand that. But I also believe that there’s magic in trying something new, as it opens the door to learning more about ourselves, the world, and our deep, often quiet, inner selves. So, the next time you feel a tingle—however that shows up for you (I had a friend whose armpits would sweat when she needed to connect with her creative side)—take a moment to listen to that call and dive into whatever makes your heart sing, even if just for a moment. I promise you’ll feel lighter afterward.