We create for the love of it.
We create to understand ourselves better.
We create to challenge ourselves.
We create to distill our thoughts and feelings.
We create to turn the raw material of our life into something beautiful.
This is to say: We DON’T create for attention. We don’t create for validation. We don’t create for riches or for fame.
And yet.
All of this PERSONAL INTEGRITY can blur into something insidious. Are we creating for the love of it? Or are we playing small? Are we creating to challenge ourselves? Or are we protecting ourselves from disappointment?
Artists do well to focus on what creating means to us. It allows us find our creative voice regardless of feedback. It allows us to persevere regardless of reception.
But it’s also ok — more than okay, it’s CRITICAL — that we let ourselves dream. That we imagine our work presented on big stages. That we imagine our words or photos or dances reaching people. Moving people. Changing lives.
We can create on BOTH OF THESE LEVELS. For ourselves, and also for our audience — whatever that means to us.
Both are real. Both are okay.
Both are power, pulling us toward our best creative work.