We all have stories to tell, and we all have different ways of telling them.
In this weeks instalment, Sarah Peck gives us some insight on how to commit to the act of creating.
Transcript:
You are this brilliant creation.
If you imagine it as like, a glowing ball of white light, like you are an orb, and the layers of experience, and the world that you live in, and the voices in your head, and your ego are like little clusters of black plaque that have lined this beautiful orb of glowing light. So much to the point that there’s film and there’s dust all over it. And so, when we’re trying to access this beautiful, bountiful, like, inner wisdom, and soul, and spirituality, and whatever you wanna call it, we have these little lifelines that we can use to share our words and our stories. And it’s talking, and it’s touching, and it’s seeing, and it’s writing, and it’s everything that we’ve learned about interacting and engaging. And I think it’s very, very powerful to know how to tell your own story. Because if you have access to what you actually think and who you actually are, it can be a very empowering thing.
In my own life, I spend a lot of time writing. I try to write every single day. I get up in the morning and I write a couple of pages. It’s like Julia Cameron in the Morning Pages. It’s just chicken scratch. Like, some mornings I’m writing like, an ode to how much I want my coffee. And like, it’s so bad, I’m like, “Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee. Am I done yet? Did I get there?”. Like, I’m just whining on the page. And other mornings, it’s to-do lists. Cause I wake up in such an urgency, and such an adrenaline-fuelled state. I’m like, “Oh my god, I have so much to do, I’m not gonna be able to do it, I’m panicked, oh my god, blah blah blah.”. So I just literally write a to-do list. And what it does is it kind of cleanses your brain. It’s like, just a little wash. It just gets some of that junk and that garbage off and then I get to think a little clearer through the day.
And just like in swimming, where I might have a shitty day, and then an okay day, and then a much better day, it’s this rhythm of getting into the flow. When it finally clicks, it’s because I’ve committed to the act of creating. And then, after carving and whittling a little bit, and just writing these god-awful essays that no one would want to read, including myself, I finally arrive at a moment where my voice is clear; it’s more lucid. I’m fluent. And so, for me, when you see me scribbling all the time, it’s just because I want to have access to my words. And the more that I scribble, the less I have to think about:
“Should I write?”
“When should I write?”
“What does writing look like?”
“Do I use a word document?”
“Do I use a Moleskin?”
“How do I do this?”
“Is someone thinking of me?”
“Should I do it now?”
“How about later?”
“No, you shouldn’t do it now.”
Like, I just get rid of that by doing it as much as I can. And so that I know that whenever I have a thought or something that feels like it’s good, or feels like I wanna write about it, I have permission to write about it because it’s just a habit.
Need a little love to kickstart your inspired idea? Head to creative.love & tell us your story – we just may be able to help you out.
Sarah Peck is a writer, storyteller, designer, and mover based in San Fransisco, CA and Brooklyn, NY.
Find her online sarahkpeck.com | sarahkathleenpeck.com | Twitter
