"Let creativity fuel your energy, do not require your energy to fuel your creativity." Wonderful advice. I've never quite thought of it that way. Creativity - whether problem-solving at work or painting at play - definitely fuels my energy.
I think creativity and imagination are the essence of living and I'll always be grateful for my disability and pain for slowing me down and putting me on the path of return to the divine flow of creation 🌀 something I think we all felt tapped into as kids and had shamed out of us cus it's fundamentally powerful and liberatory. Thanks for writing on this topic!! creation is just so crucial to survival..I wish I could spend every day of this life making art with disabled comrades 😌
Beautifully said, Talia. This reads like both a mirror and a map—especially your reminder that creativity isn’t about performance, but return. I know that space well: where the body falters, the calendar crumbles, and five minutes with a pen or a melody feels like rescue. Creativity has been my bridge through chronic illness and grief too—an altar, a rebellion, a pulse. Thank you for giving voice to that kind of grace. You didn’t just write tips—you offered permission. And that’s its own kind of medicine.
Thanks for this post, Talia. Creative pursuits are sometimes the only place I can be truly free, and even then I take that away from myself all too often with perfectionism. So here I am affirming myself here - I am a writer! I am a dancer! I am a musician! I am a philosopher! I am a fibre artist! It’s in my nature, it’s not about how “good” I am at it according to external standards. I simply AM in virtue of being human 🧡
YESS!! Thanks for being a wonderful example of affirming yourself. And what if perfectionism is allowed to be by your side when you create, but not take control? All of you is welcome in the creation process
Damn, I’ve never heard that reframe before but that is an exciting prospect to consider. I think part of why I was struggling to let go of my perfectionism is because it feels valuable and powerful, like it houses important things to me. This feels like potentially a better way of relating to it than just pushing it away or seeing it as a bad thing.
Reading this as a sit in my bed drawing, unable to muster up the energy or focus today to get anything else done. the result of an autoimmune flare up i’m becoming all too used to - thank you for relating.
Would love to connect - I also write about my chronic pain journey & the power of slowing down, listening to your body, etc 🙂
You’re one of the few pages I follow that have leaned into finding creative outlets & exploring ourselves with our art. The part that resonated most was setting intentional space/time daily to focus as a creative. I’ve felt like I need to hit X milestone before I could claim the title.
I’ve been slowly learning piano the last 100+ days. I saw your latest entry yesterday & sat at my bench with a notebook while warming up last night. Appreciated this post.
I related a lot to this. Lately I’ve been working on finding more varied ways to fuel the creative fire, so that I have lots of different ways to be creative that can match different energy levels. Some days it’s just playing the piano for a few minutes, some days it’s doing a quick sketch, and other times I might have the energy to work on a larger project. Funny thing is, figuring out how to work around chronic illness is also a creative act, and I’ve been looking at it as its own experiment.
I love this, Sophie. The realization that creativity can adapt with us is a profound and freeing one. And you’re totally right that managing chronic illness is a creative act of its own
I recently started doing 30 minute morning pages and it has honestly connected me back to a part of myself that I had lost touch with due to mental health, disability and chronic illness struggles.
I have wanted to start painting again for quite a while and have let my perfectionism and belief that I have to be good at it straight away hold me back.
I realised reading this that I need to stop viewing my struggles as a barrier to creativity and view it as the reason why I need more of it in my life and my days.
I’m so glad this article found you in this moment of your journey, Lulu. It sounds like morning pages has been a wonderful creative exercise for you and that you’re making your way to painting again. You got this
"Let creativity fuel your energy, do not require your energy to fuel your creativity." Wonderful advice. I've never quite thought of it that way. Creativity - whether problem-solving at work or painting at play - definitely fuels my energy.
You picked out my favorite line :) glad to hear you’ve felt the momentum of creativity fueling energy
i was actually just dissociating one scroll away from this article, thinking about how to start painting when i’m not sure what to paint. thank you!
So glad the article found you, melanie!
I think creativity and imagination are the essence of living and I'll always be grateful for my disability and pain for slowing me down and putting me on the path of return to the divine flow of creation 🌀 something I think we all felt tapped into as kids and had shamed out of us cus it's fundamentally powerful and liberatory. Thanks for writing on this topic!! creation is just so crucial to survival..I wish I could spend every day of this life making art with disabled comrades 😌
I resonate so deeply with what you’ve written here, Aster!
Beautifully said, Talia. This reads like both a mirror and a map—especially your reminder that creativity isn’t about performance, but return. I know that space well: where the body falters, the calendar crumbles, and five minutes with a pen or a melody feels like rescue. Creativity has been my bridge through chronic illness and grief too—an altar, a rebellion, a pulse. Thank you for giving voice to that kind of grace. You didn’t just write tips—you offered permission. And that’s its own kind of medicine.
Beautifully written, Mark. Thank you for your kind words and nice to hear creativity has been a rescue for you as well
Thanks for this post, Talia. Creative pursuits are sometimes the only place I can be truly free, and even then I take that away from myself all too often with perfectionism. So here I am affirming myself here - I am a writer! I am a dancer! I am a musician! I am a philosopher! I am a fibre artist! It’s in my nature, it’s not about how “good” I am at it according to external standards. I simply AM in virtue of being human 🧡
YESS!! Thanks for being a wonderful example of affirming yourself. And what if perfectionism is allowed to be by your side when you create, but not take control? All of you is welcome in the creation process
Damn, I’ve never heard that reframe before but that is an exciting prospect to consider. I think part of why I was struggling to let go of my perfectionism is because it feels valuable and powerful, like it houses important things to me. This feels like potentially a better way of relating to it than just pushing it away or seeing it as a bad thing.
Reading this as a sit in my bed drawing, unable to muster up the energy or focus today to get anything else done. the result of an autoimmune flare up i’m becoming all too used to - thank you for relating.
Would love to connect - I also write about my chronic pain journey & the power of slowing down, listening to your body, etc 🙂
So glad to connect with you here, Delaney. And I love how you’re turning to drawing during a flare, I do lots of my creativity from bed
You’re one of the few pages I follow that have leaned into finding creative outlets & exploring ourselves with our art. The part that resonated most was setting intentional space/time daily to focus as a creative. I’ve felt like I need to hit X milestone before I could claim the title.
I’ve been slowly learning piano the last 100+ days. I saw your latest entry yesterday & sat at my bench with a notebook while warming up last night. Appreciated this post.
Love this, Sarah. Really exciting to hear your slowly learning piano, that’s awesome.
Thank you, Talia.
I related a lot to this. Lately I’ve been working on finding more varied ways to fuel the creative fire, so that I have lots of different ways to be creative that can match different energy levels. Some days it’s just playing the piano for a few minutes, some days it’s doing a quick sketch, and other times I might have the energy to work on a larger project. Funny thing is, figuring out how to work around chronic illness is also a creative act, and I’ve been looking at it as its own experiment.
I love this, Sophie. The realization that creativity can adapt with us is a profound and freeing one. And you’re totally right that managing chronic illness is a creative act of its own
I really needed to read this.
I recently started doing 30 minute morning pages and it has honestly connected me back to a part of myself that I had lost touch with due to mental health, disability and chronic illness struggles.
I have wanted to start painting again for quite a while and have let my perfectionism and belief that I have to be good at it straight away hold me back.
I realised reading this that I need to stop viewing my struggles as a barrier to creativity and view it as the reason why I need more of it in my life and my days.
I’m so glad this article found you in this moment of your journey, Lulu. It sounds like morning pages has been a wonderful creative exercise for you and that you’re making your way to painting again. You got this
Constant interruption or fear of being interrupted is what blocks me! Not sure how to change that
Is there a deeper belief that you need a certain amount of time in order to be creative? Invite the fear with you into creation and see what happens
Thanks. I just get frustrated when I have to stop!