The Power of Words: Part Two

Nov 9

A continuation of musings on topics/themes/ideas brought up by my recent experience at the 2021 Power of Words Conference. You can read Part One, here.

Idea #4 — What is Creative Power?

One of my absolute favorite presenters at the conference was Caits Meissner. She was dynamic and breathtaking in the way she speaks about creativity and the way she lives her life. She posed a very interesting question that I think I will be considering for a long time to come and that is:

What is creative power?

Unlike the topic in Part One where we talked about power dynamics, this is not the power of domination, rather the inherent gifts and essence we bring into the world. Even so, it’s a hard question to answer.

Caits personal answer to that question is beautiful and something I aspire:

“Creative power is owning your sense of aliveness.”

Wow. What an incredible sentiment. I can’t even begin to imagine fully stepping into that kind of power, to be honest. I believe it exists. I believe all of us have the capability of getting there. But the how seems elusive to me. To be fair, the how for a lot of things has felt elusive lately (ha). A few of the thoughts thrown around during the discussion on how one finds that sense of aliveness were:

The rejection of others’ opinions, thoughts, and judgments
The rejection of comparing oneself to another
Creating from paradox — aka, we create for ourselves first and then for the collective (example — social activism poetry)
Actively looking for, seeking out, and accepting the things that “light” us up, no matter what those things are
Learning how to be spontaneous when the muse comes calling, but disciplined when the muse isn’t so obvious
Drowning out the “noise” that distracts you from your creativity
Knowing when to say YES and when to say NO
Connecting in with a deeper sense of self whether that’s through indulgence of things we love/admire, taking better care of ourselves, spirituality, adventures, joy, etc.

None of these seem to be out of the ordinary for suggestions, right? I’m sure we’ve all heard these or some version of these, so why then, is it so difficult for us to follow through? Why do we struggle with creativity or finding a sense of aliveness?

That’s the question I’ve been circling the drain on. That’s the problem I want to solve. If we know the answers, why is it so damn difficult to put it into practice?

Idea #5 — Beauty in the Face of Horror

One of my favorite topics came up in Caits session and I was so pleased that she brought it up. Though she wrapped it in different words, we essentially share the same thoughts on what can be gleaned from the horrors of our life. She said during her session:

“It’s okay to see, find, seek out the beauty even when things are shitty.”

We (I’m including myself here) often forget that even amongst the horrific, terrifying, and traumatic events and experiences — there is beauty. Think of the pandemic as an example. Every day for the 18 months, we’ve seen story after story of how critical things are for us as a human race. If you’re in the United States, then you’ve likely also seen story after story of the divisiveness, the unrest, the downright glum.

But did you see the sunrise this morning? Are the trees morphing from green to reds, oranges, yellows? Did that vegetable sprout from your garden? Did you see a bunny traipse through it, perhaps? Did the flowers bloom? Have you heard a child’s innocent laughter? Have you heard the words, “I love you?”

The world moves on, even if it feels like we are not moving on with it. The seasons are still changing, regardless of the way, we feel about the pandemic.

There is still beauty in the world and it’s our responsibility to continue to see it. I know it’s hard. Some days… near impossible. But we must. We must because beauty in the face of horror is how we go from surviving to actually living and thriving. Seeing the beauty in the face of horror is how we get ourselves out of bed, day after day to continue on.

I think the most poignant example of this is from someone Caits interacted with inside the prison system. He said to her,

“Caits, I don’t love prison, but I really love life.”

Idea #6 — Dropping Out of Performance and Leaning Into our Creativity

One of the most surprising topics that came out of Caits sessions was this theory that in order to really embody our creative selves — we must drop out of performance and lean into our creativity.

What does that mean though?

Let’s start with what “performance” can mean in this context because performing itself is a craft and an art. That’s not what she meant here. What she meant are the things we do (specifically as it relates to creativity) that are for others at the end of the day.

Writing that article specifically for that target audience
Writing in a trope you hate because it will make you more money
Writing lyrics that don’t feel heartfelt to get the “job”
Painting that commissioned piece that doesn’t feel like you
Talking about your art for show
Going with trends to stay relevant

You get the picture, right? Performance is the surface-level, safe, risk-averse ways we put ourselves at a distance from our “true” art.

How do we drop out of performance then and into our creativity?

It means that we have to take the whole “process” over “product” theory one step further and reject situations where our creativity becomes performance. We have to be willing to face the fears and failures that keep us from going there. We have to be willing to reject the “accomplishment” mindset for the “in-the-now” mindset.

How do we lean into our creativity?

Interestingly, it looks/sounds a lot like stepping into our creative power. Coincidence? (Spoiler alert: it’s not)

Leaning into our creativity is a statement of self-empowerment. Leaning into our creativity is recognizing the beauty in the horror. Leaning into our creativity is developing a connection with our creativity that knows no bounds, has no limits and depends entirely on how connected we are to ourselves.

This whole topic reminds me so much of the book, The Right to Write, and how Julia Cameron talks about the biggest mistake creatives make is thinking that their art is something worth “making a big deal over.” That’s performance, too. When we start to get impressed with ourselves and the work we’re putting out, we run the risk of turning our creativity into performance. And once that happens, it’s hard to reign ourselves back into the basics of nurturing what comes second nature.

This is a lesson that I think all creative individuals have to struggle with and learn how to overcome because performance (unless it’s literally performing) doesn’t retain the authenticity of the creator. We lose a little piece of the creative person behind it every time it’s shared or broadcast or photographed. Separating the two can be almost impossible, but I think it can be done.

I think it all comes back to one universal and simple (but not easy) approach to life: