Creativity is the Spark of Life

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."

Robin Williams' character John Keating in Dead Poet's Society

Like the flame of a candle that yearns to be resplendent in all its glory, creativity is necessary to inspire passion for this human experience we are sharing.

Unfortunately, for the last three years, my inner fire has been ripped from my heart and put on a shelf for only my eyes to see. I knew it was there, but it was buried under the burden of the daily grind. I could feel it at the core of my being. It begged me to come out and play. However, being back in the corporate world, where long hours and heinous commute times have all but ruled my life, meant that my will to create has been quashed and nearly stamped out of existence. The lack of energy I have experienced has been so pronounced, that I have had room for little else in my life.

...and then it happened. I left my job without having a new one waiting for me.

In reality, I left two jobs in a four-week period of time. The first one I actually reasonably enjoyed. I wasn't fulfilling my dream by working there, but all in all, if I had to work somewhere, it was a good fit. That being said, I could no longer sustain the 70-hour work week required to be successful. Ergo, I accepted a new position elsewhere. 

The new job, I was originally told, was 40 hours a week, Monday-Friday, and I would be doing something I was good at—sales. My inner wisdom kept warning me to not be seduced by the job's "outer covering". Underneath all the icing, there was bound to be a sour cake. I could just feel the wrongness of this job, and that there was more to the story that I wasn't seeing during the interview process. I knew that it wasn't going to be a good fit, but I wanted out of the long hours. I wanted to create during my off hours. So, I jumped ship, hoping it would work for a year or so until I found something else that was better. 

I made it for only a month.

I worked under the most unbearable circumstances and I could not endure it. On my last day, I walked out the door, never to return. It was right for me to leave, because this job was wrong for me on so many levels that are not worth noting for this reporting. What is important to note is that not long after I left, something wonderful happened. I felt a sense of freedom I have not enjoyed in the last few years. The freedom to create.

What have I been doing with myself? Eating bonbons all day? Au contraire. My spark of creativity rekindled as though it were a fireworks show on the Fourth of July. In only a few days, I have revamped my website. I wrote an allegory for my fiction blog. I started my monthly inspirational newsletter again after its nearly three year hiatus. I am working on writing a 16-month class I plan on teaching. I even took a yoga class to stretch out my back that was in a ball of knots from these crazy jobs I had. All this in a matter of a few days. And lo and behold, it feels good. Oh forget good. It feels great !! Creativity truly is the spark of my life and it had been missing for so long that I had become an empty shell with only a gossamer hint of its memory residing within me.

This is not to say that everyone should quit their job in order to be creative, and yes, unless the Universe pours a great deal of abundance over me (which I am definitely amenable for this to happen), I will have to get another job too. But one thing I have learned through this experience is that making time every single day—even a small amount of time—that is dedicated to my creativity is a good thing. A work-life balance helps to keep us young. It helps us to keep the flame of passion within us alive and well. It helps us to be a part of Universal Creation itself.

I encourage all of us to write, paint, sculpt, make a video, sing a song, dance, or just be plain silly. We are all here to contribute our unique gifts to the Universe. Sure, we have to live in this world, but living in this world does not mean working until we fall down from sheer exhaustion and then doing it again until we take our last breath. This is not the meaning of life.

I do not write because I am a famous author who has a high-profile to maintain. I write because I must write. It has been a lifelong endeavor for me. Since I was 10 years old, when I announced to my friend's mother that I was going to be a writer when I grew up, I have had this inner voice insisting that I write. And now I am back at it once again. My spark of life has been lit and no matter what, while I still have blood coursing through my veins and breath filling up my lungs, I will not extinguish it.

Long live the flame!

Peace and Blessings to you,

~Lisa

PS Please note because of the EU laws, I have taken everyone off my mailing list. If you would like to subscribe to my monthly inspirational newsletter, please visit LisaTunney.com and scroll down to the bottom of the home page to sign up again.