These are uncomfortable times. I think we all can agree on at least that right?
The whole world seems to be upended. The things that we thought were once safe, now seem so dangerous. Something simple like going to the grocery store has morphed into a masked fiasco. Questions loom at every line. There are spots on every floor and signs on every door handle.
Stand in this line but not too close.
I am uncomfortable.
Stand on this dot, but this dot is not big enough for my feet or person. Am I taking up too much space? Am I invading the space of the person in front of me?
I am uncomfortable.
Read this sign about the limited number of supplies in the store and the rationing system. I do not need any toilet paper, but I am trying to buy chicken for my neighbor and myself. I’ll buy it for my neighbor and eat ground pork for the tenth day in a row.
I am uncomfortable.
Someone knocks on my door unexpectedly?
I used to be uncomfortable, but now I am almost panicked.
A stranger reaches out to high-five my one year old.
I used to be uncomfortable, but now I am panicked.
I knew that I’d be moving in the year 2020 to a new state, to a new home, to a new normal.
I used to be uncomfortable, but now I am panicking.
In a world of uncomfortableness and panic, it can be hard to be a creative.
Aren’t we all creatives though? Aren’t we all creatives by nature of our humanity?
I’ll rephrase: in a world of uncomfortableness and panic, it can be hard to be a human.
So how do we move forward? How do we live life?
We press on and find comfort in the steadiness of the world around us.
There is comfort in early morning walks in the sunrise.
There is comfort in bird songs and trees’ clapping.
There is comfort in the first sip of coffee and crinkle of the morning’s book.
There is comfort in the laugh of a baby and the song of a delighted parent.
There is comfort in the mixing of paint. Yellow and blue will always yield green. Never purple.
There is comfort in the act of creating. There is comfort in lines and shapes. There is comfort in pushing the paint across the canvas, the pencil across the paper, the pen scratching on the journal, the fingers upon the piano key, the found melody.
We have been given the gift of creating.
In these times of uncomfortableness and panic, use the gifts given to you. Use the gift of creativity.