I'm in the process of facilitating a book club for the Austin Belly Dance Association - it's a way to help others with a creative push and also build community during a time when we can't all be together dancing. The book is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and I find myself going back to her writing and Ted Talks time after time for personal inspiration. She's conversational, candid, funny, and accessible.
I find that every time I go back to books on creativity for my own inspiration - one theme tends to stand out. It is almost like the universe is telling me that here's the message I need...right now...to work through my quandaries. I haven't been writing in a long time - and during the last year dancing as a creative outlet has also fallen by the wayside. It's a sign of what is happening in 2020, and although I know I'm not the only affected by this ennui I also know I have to push through.
This past weekend one chapter in the book jumped out - it is simply titled "Permission." Elizabeth tells us that "you do not need anybody's permission to live a creative life." It is advice I've heard before and shared with others - but sometimes we need a reminder of something that feels so simple but can still feel like an obstacle. So, I'm writing again, in hopes of getting content out for my website and also just for the simple joy of writing. I'm dancing more too - because I'm ready to get back in the studio to teach and revel in the job of moving again to music I love. And I'm reminding myself that the best permission slip comes from within.
So I hope you all go make something, do something, feel something, or enjoy something for the sheer pleasure and satisfaction that it brings you. Because the way we all move past the hurdles and sometimes horrors of 2020 is to usher in a more creative 2021.