For most of us singing, dancing or painting doesn’t come easily, the fact is, we shy away from the very suggestion of even trying. There is comfort in knowing that it’s not entirely our fault. The society we live in embraces the masculine. Women are encouraged to behave like men in the workplace if they want to get ahead in their careers and men are ridiculed for expressing their emotions and told to ‘man up.’
Express at the Expense of Ridicule
Find your voice, express boldly and with intention and power, especially if it is against the grain. You may raise a few eyebrows, turn a few heads or even ruffle some feathers along the way. Know that as so eloquently put by Mahatma Ghandi, “first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” For me, the context of winning is one in which ‘all that you are’ is celebrated. Celebrated not because you are better than anyone else, but because, you are connected to the cosmos, knowing at an experiential level, you are everyone else.
Learn an instrument, learn a language, take dancing classes, start drawing, belt out a tune or really anything that facilitates expression. Worry not about what others think, if you feel you are ‘terrible’ at it, keep going, hell, the experts say it takes 10 000 hours to master anything – you better get started!
There are literally thousands and thousands of ways to express yourself. I was talking to someone at a party last weekend whose friend is an accountant by day and drag queen by night. Whatever floats your boat – find your expression, it’s important!
Ways that I Express and How You Can Too
For me, I have chosen to embrace my inner creative in three ways.
- Taking piano lessons using the Simply Music Method. It’s even got me singing along (something which has terrified me for the longest time). I love this method for two reasons. Firstly, you don’t actually need to know how to read music when getting started. And secondly, the process of teaching/learning is simply getting your mind and body involved at a neuroscientific level. I found a Simply Music teacher that literally lives 500m for my house and if playing the piano is something you always want to do, you never know, your neighbour could be your teacher.
- Reconnecting with the Italian language. After a recent trip to Brisbane for gastronomic shenanigans with my beautiful sister Sharon (one of which was at an Italian restaurant), it dawned upon me how rusty (non-existent) my Italian had become. I was making real progress after my one-month immersion with Luigi and Lucia in the quaint town of Lucca. But, that was 3 years ago! So out came the ‘Italian with Michel Thomas.’ CD’s I love that guy and what always puts a smile on my face is that Luigi looked and spoke just like my mental image of Michel Thomas. (There is an app, but, it doesn’t always work as it should, I’ve tried… such a disservice to the method).
- Getting my artistic groove on. Recently I went along to an all-day art workshop on abstract painting, What blew me away was the similarities between art and meditation. I learned detachment first hand by sanding one of my paintings that I really liked; I learned to get comfortable with the uncertainty and allow the paintings consciousness to reveal itself; I learned to always be curious and explore the what if’s instead of always playing it safe; and I also learned to be kind to myself and look for the things I like in my paintings instead of being critical.
We are our biggest obstacle and rest assured that, when there is a will, there is a way! I encourage you to find a creative workshops/classes in your local area or check out platforms like CreativeLive for things like Podcast Storytelling Classes Jewelry Making Classes, Photography Starter Kit Classes and so much more to find something that’s a good fit for you. The key is to get started, keep going and nurture the inner creative. Repetition is the mother of all skills and if you want to get good at anything (creative expression included) do it over and over…and over… and over again.
Creativity is an expression of the feminine and humanity is crying out for more. As humans, we are all BOTH masculine and feminine. Yoga is about bringing balance between the masculine/feminine, yin/yang, Shiva/Shakti, sun/moon…. you get the idea. The time has come to bring the scales back into balance.
It’s your Responsibility
Irrespective of what society embraces, we all have a choice. With choice comes the power of decision-making and with decision-making comes responsibility.
Creativity is about expression; it can be anything you want it to be! Nobody really cares if you are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at it. What do those words even mean anyway? After all, everything is subjective. Creative expression is your responsibility and the universe is your canvas. Just have fun!
Love and Light,
Sharol xx
