Self Love and Creativity

My apologies for not posting the past 2 weeks. 

On May 10, the day started like any other day. I got ready for work, packed my lunch and got in the car with my husband. Our morning routine is that he drives to his place of employment, I drop him off, then begin my 1.5 hour trip to work. 

May 10 was no different, until... 10 minutes into our drive, my fingers on my left hand starting jerking and twitching. It was so bad that I had to put down my phone. Then it began to happen with my left leg. I felt very sleepy, lethargic, and tired. My limbs felt heavy. I knew something was off. I tried to tell my husband that something was wrong. But my words came out slurred and very forced. My tongue felt thick. I kept closing my eyes, thinking 'I just need some sleep'. My husband sounded worried. He said he was taking my to the emergency room. I closed my eyes. He patted me and said, "Dyanne, are you still with me?" I could hear panic in his voice. I nodded my head. We got to the nearest emergency room quickly. I couldn't make my legs work to get out of the car. Shortly after, I was admitted to the hospital for a TIA/mini-stroke. I was released 2 days later, with "no residual effects." 

Last week, I spent the week recuperating and resting. Self-care. Self-love. And creativity. 

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Expressing your creativity means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” ~ Osho

Recently, I was reading a study on self-esteem, funded by The Dove Self-Esteem Project, found that 85% of women and 79% of girls have opted out of an activity they normally love because they were insecure about the way they looked. Similarly, 7 out of 10 girls admitted to letting their opinions go unheard due to low self-esteem. 

As if these numbers weren’t scary enough, the boom in social media presence has only worsened these statistics. An evaluation done by the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Abnormal Psychology showed a 52% increase in depressive thoughts among individuals aged 12-17 and a 63% increase among those aged18-25. These severe increases relate with the increasing presence of social media, which has gone from an optional hobby to an required activity. Comparison and false representation are at an all-time high, causing low self-esteem to rise by margins unlike any other decade. 

Creativity is all about uniqueness. It is about recognizing the beauty in being origin – the beauty in flaws. Self-love needs be treated the same way. If each person saw themselves as a work of art, they would be able to recognize that their “flaws” are anything but. Think of every mark on your being as a flick of a paintbrush for emphasis or a dash of color to attract the eye. Soon, you will see the beauty in your uniqueness. The intimidating effects of comparison would also be lessened. As it would be silly to compare a Picasso to a Van Gough, it is ridiculous to compare yourself to another. Art is about perception. So choose to see yourself as beautiful.

It should be noted that this is not a one-way relationship. Not only can creativity allow you to improve your self-esteem, but self-love can help you unleash your inner creativity. All the statistics on how self-hatred can hurt performance were not for nothing, they show the negative effects that low self-esteem can have on creativity.

We all have a creative goddess inside us waiting to be unleashed. Ask yourself what is your creative talent, what makes you come alive?

Creativity can only occur when we are in harmony. Self love, belief, and worth are all connected. One tool that has always helped me is writing in a journal. Whatever keeps you grounded, please to keep at it. The way you love yourself speaks volume to the universe. The more you love and approve of yourself it creates an openness to receive.  Life works in ease when you are at peace.

Learning to love yourself is essential to cultivating who you are, your confidence and your creative expression. With a little self-reflection, a lot of soul searching and a conscious connection to spirituality and purpose, you can create a life of self-love. Just remember to be patient, be consistent and be open to the flow.

Self love is not just about speaking kindly to ourselves or walking in our purpose either. Self love can be applied to other disciplines as well such as creative expression, dance, and the arts. The more we become aware of who we are, everything we do can become an act of self love and an expression of our creative spirit.

Imagine this... you envision a piece of choreography because of a recent song you heard, or movie, or experience that has happened to you. You begin to connect your spirit with your imagination with your body movement. You allow the music to flow through you as you dance to the tune of your own beat - arms waving, feet gliding, hair twirling.

In this space, you embrace your natural imagination and intuition, which helps to build your confidence and creative expression. Another self-love practice at its finest!

Self-love isn’t always an easy thing, but it can be learned and cultivated with time, the desire to do better for yourself, patience and consistency. Start small - a simple smile in the mirror in the mornings, then expand as you're ready.

Make self-care a priority and be consistent. Go with the flow of life, be open to the signs, pursue your dreams and check in with yourself regularly. Choose things that make you happy and connect with others who share a similar vibe.