Artist Pep Talk: Your life is a Work of Art

I want to teach to this idea that your life is a work of art. You already are an artist, and you might not even know it yet. Did you know that? And my intention right now in the series is to teach what Julia Cameron teaches in her book, The Artist’s Way - which is a book that changed my life. I highly recommend this book to my clients who are musicians, to my young-adults clients who are in music programs in college. 

And Julia Cameron is very open about sharing her ideas to whoever will listen, she ascribes to the principle, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” And that’s what I’m hoping to facilitate, helping you give yourself permission to allow your inner artist to come alive again. 

I say again, because Children are natural at allowing their inner artist to lead the way. The reason we label childhood so magical is because we know it is a time when we are allowed to be free with our imaginations, and to explore new things. 

As we get older, those opportunities, those windows of imagination and freedom close. And I’m not saying that’s bad or wrong. But I am saying that we are all born with the seeds of creativity within us. We are born to create and we are born with a unique set of gifts and talents that are unique to each and every one of us. 

I haven’t personally met a human yet who doesn’t have their own set of strengths, talents and gifts. The reason you might not think of yourself as an Artist is because Our brains go to the more obvious expression of the arts, and of talents like music and the painting, or drama and theater, but there are so many strengths and gifts than what is obvious. 

• Adaptability - having the ability to go with the flow and take things as they come without a lot of resistance. People with this strength are gifted in being present, being a ‘here and now’ person and they bring a willingness to follow the lead of change that can be quite refreshing. 
• Analytical - gifts have the ability to search for reasons and causes of why things work the way they do. My husband has this gift. They think about all the factors that might affect a situation and bring a logical, objective approach. They can simplify things in the midst of complexity and they bring a neutral energy to emotionally charged issues, which is so needed sometimes. 
• Belief - people exceptionally talented in this area have certain core values that don’t change, and from their values emerge a defined purpose for their lives. They are passionate about what they believe in, they make sacrifices for things that are important, they are altruistic and giving and they can be very grounding for people - we need people with the strength of Belief because they give us structure and foundation. 

The brain is resistant to the idea that you are an Artist. I understand. The brain says:

• I’m not an Artist like so and so. . . . (and it will immediately think of all the people you’ve grouped into the Artist category.)
• Artists are those weird people who wear black and their head is in the clouds and they don’t follow any rules. . . (and the brain will imagine what it is supposed to look like to be a real artist.)
• Are we really all creative? That seems like a stretch, especially for me. I’m pretty boring, you have no idea how not-creative I am. . . 

And so there’s a couple of things I want to address here.

I want to start by telling you a story. Maybe you’ve heard this story before but it’s the story of how I first got into taking my creativity, my music seriously.

Because everyone is an artist.

Everyone is creative.

And everyone has talent in some form or another.

Here’s what I want to invite you to consider: I believe that that story you might be telling yourself that you aren’t talented, you aren’t creative, you aren’t an artist - is a perfectionist story, that it is a lie but it’s also a natural part of the way our brains are wired, to filter and categorize what we deem as good and bad, worthy and unworthy, quality or crap, and so on.

 Here’s why I think it’s a lie. The lie is that there are people who are born with it and that you either have it or you don’t. And we all do this, whether we’re a computer scientist, a school teacher, a stay at home mom, a musician, a classical pianist, a painter, a writer, a doctor. I think all of those things have an element of being an Artist in them, any type of profession, any type of skill, and here’s why. How many people do you know who are good at something and they do it so well, you admire it, and you can see them operating in their strength to the point they make it look easy? Who can you think of that comes to mind right off the bat? 

How many people can you think of that are good at something? I’ve taught music for over thirty years now, and each child that has come and gone through my studio is an Artist in their own way. Every single one of them has created art on the piano or the guitar or with their voice. 

So even if we define the term Artist as being someone who becomes good at something, the kids who first come to my studio haven’t become good at it yet. But there are sparks. There are glimpses. And they’re young and have beginner minds and don’t take their mistakes so personally. They are clean slates, and they are excited to PLAY.

How many people do you know who allow themselves to PLAY at something they enjoy and don’t care whether it’s good or bad? 

Because in my world of adults, in my world of coaching parents and adults, and then moving backwards, young adults and teenagers even, it is more difficult to find people who allow themselves to PLAY at something they enjoy just for the sake of play and not care whether it’s good or bad. 

So you can ask yourself this question: do I give myself permission to PLAY at something I enjoy just for fun to see what happens? 

 It’s time to honor your creativity. There will never be a perfect time unless you decide to declare now is the time. For me, the time has come to help my kindred fellow Artists and creatives. And I’m excited about that. 

 We don’t want to tell ourselves that our creative yearnings don’t matter. We want to feel alive inside. We yearn for fulfillment. Honoring your creativity is the path. And your path will be unique. 

So try to consider that creating a unique path for yourself, that you have strengths and a unique purpose nobody else has, that you were meant to do, and it’s never too late to say YES to that, to let it awaken inside of you. It will boost your mental health like no other thing. It will give you purpose and meaning if that’s something that has been eluding you. 

We’ve got to create a better world, and we all have the tools to do that. It’s by honoring your inner Artist, whatever that looks like for you.

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