260. Time For Creativity

When I’m feeling anxious about my ability to meet my immediate needs, it can feel impossible to do anything creative. I might think that it’s only when my needs have been fully met that I’ll be comfortable enough to be creative again. But the time for creative action is always now. It’s by thinking and acting creatively that I can best address my needs and solve the problems I’m facing.

The anxiety I feel over my needs is no different from any other kind of anxiety. It’s also no different from any other kind of suffering that distracts me from taking creative action. Distraction is possible because my attention is being manipulated by attachment. I’m completely focused on my specific problems instead of allowing my attention to be open and free.

It’s precisely this freedom and openness that allows for creativity. When my attention is restricted to a narrow set of concerns, my imagination cannot cooperate with my intelligence to create something new. Newness also means risk, so I might believe I should avoid it in order to not encourage further anxiety. But liberating myself from anxiety cannot mean waiting for anxiety to end, for it might never end if I do nothing about it.

Liberation can only be achieved by changing my relationship with the intentions that are distracting me. I have to see how my own attachments are producing the anxiety I’m experiencing, as it is by seeing this relationship clearly that I also gain the ability to break free from attachment and the suffering it produces.

When I have space from my intentions, I can breathe, I can be open, and I can be free — all of which enables creativity. When I act creatively, my actions are rooted in compassion and I help myself towards meeting my own needs, including those that are so deeply troubling me.