I recently found a source that lists eight creative types: the artist, the adventurer, the dreamer, the innovator, the maker, the producer, the thinker, and the visionary. There may be others, but that sounds like an interesting beginning. Most likely one or two those types resonated with you more than others. I wonder, though, if we don’t each possess a little bit of many, or possibly even a little bit of each. There are some types that come naturally while others require much greater effort. Some we pursue actively even as others lie dormant. As you read the list, which of these made you nod your head as if to say “yep, that’s so me” and which might have caused your heart to skip a beat while you thought “oh, there’s no way in hell that applies to me”? Which one made my heart skip a beat? The artist. And that reaction was put to the test this week in a number of ways.

I had enrolled in a Mandala Medicine webinar. Although I knew that nobody would see what I created, I was quite nervous about it. Why? Because I’m not artistic. That, at least, is what I have thought about myself. Some of you know that I’ve been coloring mandalas for months, have recommended the process to others, and even held a workshop on Mandalas for Mindfulness. This, however, was the first time I was going to attempt to create my own. Anxiety set in. I almost didn’t join the webinar. But you know what? It felt good to take a blank piece of paper, follow some basic instructions, allow myself to modify things to suit my whims, and end up with something that didn’t make me cringe. It is still a work in progress as the painting is not yet complete. But it has been and I believe will continue to be an interesting and surprisingly fulfilling experience.

Then a friend told me about a group that she created called FACE, which stands for Family Art & Creativity Exchange. Each week they have a different topic and each participant creates something to represent the topic. The only rule is to honor the topic using materials already on hand. I’m told the entries have included videos, quilts, projects made with paper or generated via computer, etc. The creations are apparently as varied as the participants are unique. It sounded amazing. It sounded scary.

Why would something so simple sound so scary? Why would the mere thought make my heart skip a beat? Because once again my initial reaction was to revert to the self-limiting belief that I’m not artistic. What if I joined such a group and couldn’t think of something to create? What if I shared it and nobody liked what I did? Or if they didn’t “get it”? What if my concept or interpretation of the topic wasn’t the same as theirs? But then I began to think about what creativity really is. It’s about not imitating what everyone else is doing. It’s self-expression. It’s originality. In the words of Henri Matisse, “creativity takes courage.” I agree. It takes courage to tap deep into yourself, to put yourself out there, and to allow vulnerability when you know that you might be judged. There is courage in letting your interior being shine through to the exterior world.

Creativity takes courage. Courage to be yourself. Courage to show yourself. Courage to shine. I just made the commitment to participate in a group similar to the FACE group mentioned above, to challenge myself artistically each week, and yes, to actually share whatever I create with others. Now I challenge you. Go create something – anything – in whatever way calls to you. It’s OK if you’re scared. Do it anyway. Take a chance. Be vulnerable. Be courageous. Be creative.