Create February Fabulous! - The Music Inside

Day 9

There is something fundamental within a human to want to create. As children we are forever in our imagination, creating at will and we are often coerced out of these habits as we grow up – whether by ourselves or the influence of parents, society or religion. But what happens if that creative urge never left us? What happens if we are all meant to be creators from the moment we are born until the moment we die but somehow we just left it by the wayside. Perhaps it is time to reignite the fires within and let out the creative genius that you are.

“Don’t die with your music still inside you. Listen to your intuitive inner voice and find what passion stirs your soul. Listen to that inner voice, and don’t get to the end of your life and say, ‘What if my whole life has been wrong?”

– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Create February Fabulous! was born of an idea I had to produce something creative every day in February. It is my idea of showing up to the page because I have often stuggled with wanting to create and not being able to. It is a way to be accountable and to challenge myself a bit. It is turning into something more than that. An exploration of creativity and a sharing of art with other beautiful creators around the world.

Procrastination, contrary to popular belief, is not laziness. It is fear. It is the ego fearing to let go as we dive deep into something transcendental like drawing or meditation or music. A favourite teacher of mine Jamie Catto helped me to see this. Perhaps many of us let go of arts and creativity because at some point we ‘grew’ up and got side-tracked. Now when we think of art, we either do not have the time, disregard the urge or intuition or suffer in silence, knowing not what ails us.

So how do we free the artist inside? How do we even know if we want to create something? Well, noticing any attraction to colour, music, dance, movement and words is a pretty good sign that there is something resonating inside that would love to create, make or take part in something. Think of how good it feels when you join in a rousing chorus at a celebration with friends, a concert or down the pub. That is pure creative human spirit! If you have the urge to sing, to write a book, to take dance classes, act, or make something, then that is your heart and soul speaking to you. You will feel much better for listening and taking action.

“Every child is an artist until he's told he's not an artist.”

John Lennon

I have heard many people utter the words ‘I wish I could do that but…’ The truth is, you can! The key to it is to just start and to embrace and dissolve those demons and voices that hold you back. And by embrace, I mean give those lost and cranky parts of you some love.

Here are some voices I have had in my head over the years. ‘I am not good enough’, ‘I am not talented enough’, ‘I will never be that good’, ‘I don’t have enough time’, ‘I have other commitments’, ‘I should be doing something else’, ‘I am not rich enough’, ‘there is no money in art’ and ‘what is the point!’. They all seem like valid arguments but the reality of squashing that creative urge or tingle down is not pleasant. It feels horrible. It feels like I am missing out on something. Here’s some suggestions for what to do if you have a hard time starting out.

• Try out something when you have the urge, however small and humble your beginnings. It may be one line of verse, a haiku, a doodle or a dance step. Just try it for five minutes. No more. 
• It is better to try something every day for five minutes in order to build up a habit than not at all. You will begin to create an energy of wanting to do more. 
• Everything you enjoy has been created by someone or something! Creativity is the base code of the entire Universe.
• Keep it simple at first. Simple ideas, simple tools. Just enjoy the moment.
• Look at life in front of you. Use your senses. See the colours and textures. Hear the sounds. Feel the wind and smell the smells. That is where inspiration comes from. 
• Get silly, get inventive. I once worked at a creative retreat where a woman was fascinated by a crack in the concrete. She followed her artistic urge and painted that crack loads of times. She loved it! 
• Try to let go of judgement and your inner critic. Be kind to that voice. Say ‘thank you dear crazy voice but even though you think this is rubbish or stupid, I am going to do it anyway just to see what happens. Don’t worry, all will be well.’ 
• Don’t compare yourself! You are UNIQUE! There is nothing compared to you or to what you will create! 
• Love the process but don’t worry about the result. The more you do, the more the work will develop. 
• Get risky and juicy. Be daring. Write, paint, dance whatever you feel, whatever you want to say, however crazy, dark, edgy or risqué.
• Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to move you, it tends to flow once you get started. 
• Great art doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in small increments, step by step. Day by day. 
• You are allowed to create and dream and imagine. 
• You are allowed to be an artist and create whatever you want to create! 
• If you just got the best idea then go with the flow! That feeling that comes with a great idea is your heart and soul saying yes, yes, yes!
• If you really want to dive deep with any art, have a look at 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron.
• If you really want to learn to draw have a look at 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' by Betty Edwards.
• If you really want to write have a look at 'Writing Down the Bones' by Natalie Goldberg. 

If you have any other great tips for getting into the creative flow, please leave them in the comments below.

Good luck and good creating. Let the music out dear friends!

Love, love, love...

Matt Rivers

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!