As we explore ways to help you find the satisfaction of enough and move away from the ways in which our trained consumerism ties us to unhealthy (and often unhappy) patterns, we’d like to take a moment to explore finding satisfaction in art. More specifically, we’d like to take some time to address the phrase “I’m just not an artistic or creative person.”
We’ve heard this statement before and, frankly, it makes us laugh. We think that the idea that there’s a single person out there who isn’t creative and artistic is a myth. However, the structure of American (and for the most part global) education makes us think of the term “creative” and the term “artistic” in very narrow ways. Because “art class” and “drama club” and “band” were where all of the “creative kids” spent their time, we’re trained to think that only those people have a creative or artistic tendency. That idea is as crazy as the idea that a person who grew up not playing sports can’t find a physical activity that they enjoy.
Just because you may not like to paint, draw, write or play a musical instrument, it doesn’t mean that you’re not creative and there isn’t an artistic or creative hobby or activity that will bring you great satisfaction. Maybe you really enjoy building card houses. Guess what? That’s creative, and also very artistic. Enjoy experimenting with new hairstyles and make-up looks? That’s a creative and artistic activity. Sewing, knitting, photography, even just arranging the magnets on your refrigerator … these can all be ways to create outlets for the creative core that exists in all people.
The key, for you, will be to find the way to let this creativity out. There are few feelings of satisfaction that can honestly match experiencing something that you created and knowing that it, somehow, even if that somehow isn’t obvious to everybody else, expresses something that came from inside of you. As you learn to express your creative energy more, we promise you that you’ll feel more fulfilled. It’s a basic human need to express and be understood. Bottling what’s inside of us up is not the natural state of things. So, find your own art and use it as an outlet to get those creative urges out of you. Try a hundred different things, eventually you’ll find the right thing for you. But don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not creative and not artistic. We all are, and finding a way to express and enjoy that will help you find the satisfaction of enough.