Courage is a love affair with the unknown.
– Osho
Last week in my pursuit of creative living (and trying to figure out what it all means), I focused on fear. Fear of rejection, fear of disappointment. Fear of the mysterious power churning inside.
Now I'm focusing on courage. When I say courage, I don't mean being gutsy or fearless.
I’m talking about looking into the eyes of the power within you and saying “thank you.”
It’s hard to think about thanking something as disruptive as fear. Fear is sometimes what keeps us from trying new things, from taking chances, from loving deeply. Often we try to push that fear away, ignore it, conquer it. But I’ve discovered that, though fear is something everyone experiences, the most successful people are those who take their fear along with them. To paraphrase Elizabeth Gilbert, just don’t let fear get in the driver’s seat.
This week I’ve been exploring ways to take my fear along with me, acknowledge its message, and learn from it. I’ve been dancing with the unknown, testing out feelings and experiences I’ve never tried before. I’ve been changing plans and taking time to breathe and asking for help. I’ve actually been trying the tips my research has given me.
It’s been very tiring.
It’s also been really amazing.
The result? I have started to create space in my life to breathe. The first thing I’m doing with that space and breath is restarting my meditation practice. I'm getting back into the habit of listening to myself and practicing mindfulness. But with my determination to find out what makes my creativity flourish, I'm also making sure that I don't make any changes too quickly. My courage comes in the form of taking things one step at a time.
Sometimes it only takes one small changes to catapult you into habits that can make your life better, more vibrant, more creative. This week, I encourage you to take a step. Take the tiniest, teensiest step you can imagine and push yourself forward into something you want to do but are afraid to. Take your fear with you, just don’t let it drive. Work on your boundaries slowly and with diligence – you will create so much more space in your life. And think of all the things you could do with more space: take up meditation, get extra sleep, write a screenplay, learn to ballroom dance.
We all need space to create.
All we need is a little courage to get there.
This article is part of a series on creativity and the creative process.
