Now

​

Fact #1 - EVERYTHING you take part in is a creation, down to every breath.

Fact #2 - There is only ever now.

 

Sometimes we manage to remember that now is all we have. It’s a tough concept to grasp, but the best thing you can do for yourself is know that now is all there has ever been. This moment. There is no past and no future in the way that we know it. Everything that has happened or will happen is happening right now.

 

Only when we start being aware of the now can we create, acting through that piece of us that knows it is eternal. It is about appreciating that everything in this moment is enough. Paying attention to our senses, and understanding that we have all we need right now. When we understand that we have enough, we are enough, and we do enough, we become limitless in thought. The edges of our thoughts dissolve and we can fully energise, perceiving the world with wonder.

 

We no longer fear opportunity. We grasp it!

​

​

​

A Moving Meditation

 

​

As you eat, move and think, bring all into the now. Appreciate the colours right in front of you, and become aware of the sensations in your body as you move. Tune your ears in to all noise, good or bad, and feel the texture and temperature of all that you touch. Bring yourself into the world around you. See the creation in it; whether the creator is God, the Universe, or science.

 

'This is now. I am here. This is all there is.'

 

Close your eyes and take deep, meaningful breaths, stay in the very present. Be inspired by everything around you, and imagine everything – every memory, all of history, and the future, happening in this moment. When you pull a memory to you, that moment in time is repeating in the present. And once you understand that everything is now, let it go. Relax into the spot you are in, totally aware of where that place is. You will feel yourself expand, sway, or possibly even pulse from the place of intuition. You might feel it in the womb. Remember that everything you have in this moment is enough. In this place where everything is occurring at the same time, see what is happening inside of you - bring it into now. It wishes to be expressed.

 

Expression is key. The inner world rises. Now.

​

​

​

The Pre-Creation Panic

 

​

To have that moment of simply being present is so important for creativity. When we are going about day-to-day, thinking of a distant dream, we see ourselves far away from it, as though it is somewhere else. This is an illusion. We are now. Now is all we have. And the time to allow in our reason for being – that’s also now.

 

Often, before we've even started, we are already asking, ‘How will I finish? Will it be successful? How will I have the money to take it all the way?’

 

We can only be brilliant when what we love comes out of us fearlessly, as opposed to us chasing something down into exhaustion. It is not the challenge or the game that keeps us going, for both of those eventually tire us. It is faith. Faith we must have in ourselves. Faith in the power of creativity. Faith in our role.

 

Creation for me might mean something very different to you. So many people have told me they are not creative, and yet they are re-upholstering chairs, telling a story with impeccable timing, have created numerous names for their children and pets, and so on...

 

​

​

Expression is Healing

 

​

Feel emotion, let it in – it won't drain you if you have creativity in mind; it will move through you and inspire you. So often our healed pain is where we meet others; where we discover what it is we will do to help; where we find our compassion.

 

All you need to start is an open heart. Think of something small you can create today. It might be baking, painting, planting or anything - literally anything else you could think of. Don't think with the head. If it's baking, go and stand in the kitchen and see what is in the cupboards. Let it inspire you. If it's painting, sit in front of a blank piece of paper. If it's planting, get to the garden. Only then do you open up to what plants you might need from the garden centre. If it's dancing, put the music on. Comprende? Just get to that place.

 

And with that energy, we place it in the hands of the third necessity…

​

​

​

Being Childlike

 

​

I am a writer. I became a writer after being a daydreamer, a photographer, an artist, a cook, a dancer, and a designer. Was I winning awards for these arts? No. I was allowing myself to drift away in bizarre chains of thought, taking wonky pictures on my iPhone, sketching on Poundland canvases, sticking asparagus in a pot, starting Irish dance lessons, and painting my room questionable colours.

 

I was doing what threw me outside my comfort zone. Things that made me realise that, really, I am fearless. When I started pursuing all these exciting interests that I knew were for the purely for sake of having fun and being myself, I stopped telling myself I couldn’t do something. I went and stared at Picasso’s art in wonder, without jealousy or fear, but in enjoyment. Then came a writing course, where for the first time, I read my work out loud, and then came a novel. Now, I'm finishing up on a trilogy.

 

When we are flinging creativity about us, no matter what it is, the beauty of it orbits. Even if this is simply dancing round the living room. It stays around us, that energy, and we invite more in. It is like watering the seed inside us.

 

Creativity is love.

​

​

​

Failure

 

​

Success and failure are ying and yang. Much like life and death. Light and dark.

​

Once we’ve been a child and found our path and rhythm, we create something. If we choose to share it, it is because, to us, this is the most important piece of art. It is how we see the world and where we imagine it should be in love and heroics and colour and sound. It is something we are sure that the world needs right now.

 

We have taken in the world as we perceive it and created something in a reaction to it.
 

No one else sees the world through our eyes. No one has had our exact path of experience. We post our creativity out into the world, telling ourselves we have faith and can take this all the way, no matter how long it takes. And then someone says no, no one reacts, or no one buys our product. We shatter. A little piece of our belief is taken, but we continue anyway, telling ourselves we are strong. We read the inspiring articles about others who were rejected many times or who was laughed at to begin with. We are told to persevere, because if we do, one day our creation will be accepted.

 

You want the secret to success?

 

Actually, success has already happened. You created. If you truly love what you’re doing, you’ll carry on doing it.

 

And the other secret to success?

 

Look forward to failure! It is the way of the world, much as death is a part of life. We cannot stop the emotions of rejection when we send our little yacht of creativity sailing out into heavy winds. It will be caught up in success or blown off course; we simply brace ourselves for the journey either way. The course is rarely ever smooth.

 

We throw our arms out and say, ‘life’s not fair! All I want is to make enough money to do this more!’

 

Then make enough to do it more. It’s very simple. We make a choice every day as to whether today is the day we give in, or whether today will be the day we create with more freedom than ever. If we feel that what we have to give is what needs to be received, then it will one way or another. Make your own award up, and present it to yourself - experience the success in your imagination because that can create the reality!

 

If we believe in the creation enough, we will give our heart to it no matter what.

​

​

​

Learning To Jump

 

​

If you start doing something you love now, imagine how skilled you could be in ten years time.

​

Remember now is all there is.

Heal

Be a child.

Welcome failure.

 

Jump. You might as well. Write down the name of that main character or plot in your head, or the name of the app you want to develop. Draw a logo for your business. Contact someone about that dance class. Get excited! Honour the child that wants to explore and climb trees and try something outrageous. So often we keep the child in us in check, when really it should be the adult we tell to back off. 

 

Revel in life and creation, because you are the universe's creation.

​

BE the dream inside the dream inside the dream.

​

The opportunity is right here. If you want to paint or write or sing, start now!

​

Only by your own bravery, your own craft, and your own standards, can you experience the wonders that come with making art.

​

​