Friday reflection

Channeling pain into creative expression

I didn’t know what to share this week. I thought of sharing nothing. Then I came across this quote and felt to share it with all of you:

“Whatever pain you can’t get rid of,

make it your creative offering.”

- Susan Cain in her new book, Bittersweet: How Pain and Longing Make Us Whole

I feel I can safely assume that most, if not all, of you, are feeling pretty damn “whole” right now.

I love the invitation embedded in the quote above — an invitation to use my power as a creative being to channel my pain into something that eases my own and even others’ pain. Not to overcompensate as a way of burying my pain, but simply to lean into making: a poem, a sketch, a gathering, a lemonade stand to raise money for Everytown, a new project or even a new business.

Your creative offering can be small, big, ephemeral, lasting, weird, “boring,” “wrong.” A loaf of bread or a manifesto. No right answers, no wrong answers. Just whatever moves your spirit.

The point is to go from not-creating, to creating, which of course links back to learning to tell your story. Instead of just consuming media, you start creating it. Instead of just consuming other people’s stories, you share your own, thus altering the narrative quilt of our culture and world. Just channeling your pain, and your inspiration, into creative offerings. Your life as a creative offering.

But if that’s all too heady for the end of a long, long week, I understand.

Just doodle on a napkin, trace a shape in the dirt, chop some vegetables…make something. And see how it feels.

You are a mighty force -

Amanda