In the past we’ve discussed the Many Faces of Creative Growth, but today we are taking a slightly different perspective.
Let’s Check the Nuance - Growth V Abundance
Growth is all about progress, movement through different phases of quality of work produced. Abundance is related to volume, and quantity of work or output. However, abundance is not only a measure of quantity, it is also a measure of fulfilment, enrichment and opportunity when used in connection to creativity. Growth can produce abundance in a creative practice, but abundance may not always be of quality. It’s a balance as always.
Creative abundance isn’t any one thing or look any one way. Abundance in the creative life can be a large body of work or an overwhelming sense of fulfilment or a choice in creative opportunity. All of these and more are signs of abundance.
The Myths
Creative abundance means commercial success - Abundance does not always equate to what society holds as commercial success. Creative abundance can be a sense of fulfilment in your creative practice, a joy in creating. It can look like a journal overflowing with snippets of ideas and inspiration or a sigh of relief after a difficult work out. Creative abundance is feeling fulfilled within your creativity. Commercial success is not the benchmark for abundance, not for everyone. Writers with novels stuffed into desk drawers, paintings stashed in the attic after years of creating, photographs saved on the computer, years of memories stored and creativity captured - whether it sees the light of day or not, is creative abundance.
Creative abundance takes a long time to cultivate - There is no timeline to creative abundance. It can be achieved in moments or years. The key is to identify the perspective from which you view your abundance. Someone can write twenty poems in a week, others can complete three paintings in a month, yet others can coordinate events every weekend. However they choose to be creative, however they choose to measure creative output, abundance comes in its own time. The inspiration and production of work is the telling sign of abundance happening, it can be over the course of a few days or several years.
Creative abundance = burnout for the sake of productivity - You do not need to burn yourself out to achieve creative abundance. Yes, abundance is linked to volume, but it is also linked to enrichment, joy, and ideation. However, abundance does not require you to push yourself to the point of burnout. Self care and rest are essential to encouraging abundance. Burnout actually slows the creative process. It stops you from being able to give to your creativity. Being hyper productivity does not equate to abundance because there needs to be space for delight in the process of creating in order for abundance to grow.
Creative abundance means you have no other focus - To be abundant in your creative life does not mean it has to be your only focus. Creativity becomes abundant when we serve every part of our lives with equal kindness, grace and dedication. You can have a full time career and still be abundant in your creativity. You can only create on the weekends because you spend the week with your family and still be abundant. Hyper focus is not the healthiest way to pursue creative abundance because it can very quickly spiral into tunnel vision and promote burnout.
The Paths
Consistency - We’ve said it many a time, consistency is essential to creating a creative practice that leads to abundance. This principle goes hand in hand with dedication. By remaining consistent in your creative practice, abundance will follow. It’s not always the lightning blitz or an all night binge of creative productivity that is the mark of creative abundance, it is the consistency that builds a body of work, tracks the growth and multiplies the fruits of labour.
Resonance - Allowing yourself to be guided by what resonates with you, a walking tuning fork for the world around you, opens up a world of opportunity for creativity. By remaining open to opportunity, inspiration and experience we give ourselves different avenues to access to perpetuate abundance. If we are open to following those pursuits that resonate with us as creatives, we are more likely to activate joy and abundance in our lives.
Passion - When we are passionate about our creative projects we are more likely to commit to them, complete them and be hungry for more of it, thereby creating in abundance. Passion gives us motivation to keep going, it keeps us excited about what’s coming next, and it’s what’s coming next that sets the creation of abundance in motion. This is the drive to create, to continue. Sometimes it does feel like work, but under it all is the passion that got us started in the first place.
Ease - When we fight every step of the way - fight the process, fight ourselves, fight inspiration - we limit what we can do by getting in our own way. By choosing a path of ease we allow creativity to flow freely through our lives. Ease gives us space to create. It gives us assurance and comfort in the creative process, that we have time and generosity to create at our own pace and therefore create in abundance in our own time.
Creative abundance is a beautiful thing. There is an abundance of creativity in our world, and getting to be a part of that is exhilarating and humbling. These are my paths to abundance and the myths I’ve encountered along my creative journey thus far. I hope these help you in your pursuit of creative abundance and as always please share your thoughts and the paths you are taking on your journey to creative abundance and fulfilment.
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