Talents don’t leave you

As this is my first blog since last year I was unsure what to write about. Its been a difficult year for me even outside the pandemic so all my hobbies, interests, and talents came to a stop. So I thought the best topic to write about is to reach out to those creative types, and others, that have been in the same position that I have been in over the past year or more.

Life has a funny way of getting in between your passions and rendering you feeling powerless to either change it or get back on track…. I will use the words depression and anxiety as a metaphor for my blog. If something catastrophic happens to you personally in your life or a series or sequence of bad events that didn’t give you time to heal from the first, This can have a lasting effect on your minds’ wiring and perspective of the world and your inner self suffers.

What was once something you loved, thrived at, excelled at and enjoyed, can turn out to be what you view as a chore, or something you “once loved”. Like it has died. You lose all confidence, doubt your ability, doubt you were even good at it in the first place, and are afraid to even begin to think about starting it up again. It lies to you, steals the light from inside you, and leaves you feeling like a cold thoughtless shell. As the shadow of what you once were. You look through old photos of your triumphs, read through old writings, listen to music you once made, gazed at a piece of art you painted or crafted, and wonder…. “Where did that all go?”

The answer is, it is still there. Laying dormant like a broken soul waiting to be discovered once again. This is easier said than done, believe me, I know. Finding it again is a whole other ballgame.

What I can say is at this point, we must not, no matter what we do, listen to that dark voice in our head that says we can’t do it. It may not come back easily but the key here is, (yes you guessed it) perseverance, self-belief, and practice. Now even as I say that, I feel mentally exhausted. When the brain has been traumatised, grieved, left unused for a length of time (for good reason) or you’ve just lost your mojo, it is incredibly difficult to kickstart it back to the things that once brought you joy.

So the best thing to do I feel is to take it in small steps first of all. Even the smallest step is a step forward. Be it, turning on your computer, leaving a notebook open beside your bed, picking up a paintbrush just to get the feel of it in your hand again, listen to an audible book if your concentration is has eluded you for now.

This is opening your mind to the option of starting again, no matter how long it takes to use any of it. When you get even the smallest urge or idea, then write it down and leave it. Eventually, in time, it will start to come back to you.

Don’t push yourself to start, that will make it more of a chore and deter you from actually wanting to start again. Just let it come naturally. It may happen faster than you think. And if not, then take some time out and look after yourself, especially if you have been through something that needs time to heal. There’s nothing wrong with some TLC.

Why not take a weekend away to a spa? You deserve to relax after what you’ve been through.

Or go to the beach? There’s nothing more therapeutic than nature.

Or have a night out to a concert? It might get your musical inspiration flowing.

Or go to a museum or online gallery to get that artistic inspiration reactivated.

There are so many ways to work around what you feel is holding you back from your passion, your gift, your born talent. Sometimesit is hard to see it through the mental and emotional fog but do not despair, it is still there. If your mind and body are telling you to rest and it’s still not time to start working on it, listen to your instinct. The rest may be exactly what you need before your creativity comes back to life.

Creativity process that should flow. All creative types know this. If it’s not coming to you, give it time. You were born to do what you do and nothing in the world can take that away from you. You have had a setback, be it as painful as it was, you know you can use the pain to channel it into your creative work. You never know, you may even create a masterpiece out of it 🙂

Believe in yourself again and as always……KEEP THE FAITH!!!