Hello friends… this week I want to share the paradox of perfection and creation. A theme I’ve been moving through for quite some time now (okay …years).
When I get honest with myself, I reflect on the reasons why I’ve given up on so many of my previous creative projects, initiating with full blast momentum (as in I can sit in place for HOURS if I’m really zoned in and inspired)….but then the desire sizzles out and I don’t end up completing it. I have beat myself up over this many times…and instead of playing the victim or make excuses, I decided to get curious and dig deep.
So now I want to share these three lessons that I’ve learned, and the wisdom I’ve gained, in case this happens to be you too.
I don’t fit in any one box
I’ve never liked labels or titles, and when it comes to ‘about me’ sections, I end up writing poetically about the essence of how I feel that I am (I call it soul speak), rather than listing a whole resume of my accomplishments.
I am by definition the jack of all trades… and because of it, I want to do ALL the things. Sometimes I think... how do these worlds even connect, and am I confusing people in my messaging? And then I realize I’m wearing my marketing hat (which is a role I’ve played for over a decade and a half) and I remember why I left the marketing world in the first place. I’m not here to sell anyone anything. I’m just here to be me. Who I am this week may be entirely different from the version of Jade you get next week. All of those secret success formulas on social media that promise you a bajillion results and a 10 figure income if you follow their method KILLS your own creative magic. You are here to be YOU, there is no linear roadmap or step by step process that gets you there (because you are already here). Each of our paths are unique, and that’s what makes this beautiful life so interesting.
Can you imagine if everyone was a carbon copy of the other (cringe - that sounds like a dystopian sci-fi horror story…and it kind of reminds me of the book The Giver).
Perfection takes us out of creating
I don’t know if it’s PTSD from corporate America, but I noticed the ways I would get myself stuck in the details of perfection. Then I would end up losing the spark of inspiration that motivated me to create in the first place. Analysis can be paralysis if we fixate on how we think it needs to be, instead of flowing with the act of creating in the first place. The moment it’s no longer fun, is the moment we lose momentum.
Creation is a flowing stream of energy that runs through us, in the form of desire., inspired action, and being present. And in order to be present, is to be fully immersed in the experience, and not *thinking about it*. Once the mind disconnects from the heart, it is now observing and analyzing instead of feeling and being.
This disconnects our internal masculine and feminine essence…the two components that create our entirety. From our neural networks (the left and right brain), to the electrical wiring of our body, to the soul of our being. An imbalance in one creates disharmony of the whole.
Our feminine essence is the muse and the dreamer… our desire to create, our receptivity for ideas, our feeling of inspiration.
Our masculine essence is the visionary and the strategist… building the bridge between idea and structure, turning the formless into form to formulate the vision.
Both are necessary components that create our reality.
Comparison distracts you from your own growth, progress and potential
Guilty… but also, I don’t know anyone who has never compared themselves to anyone else before. As much as I switch hats on my creative pursuits, I realize two things: 1) life is always shifting and so I shift with it (as we evolve, life evolves with us), and 2) thinking I need to be an expert to share something is only creating my own demise.
I have taken many social media breaks, because I notice how overstimulated my mind can get the moment I’m on it. And if I’m not conscious of my thoughts, I get lost in these narratives of comparing myself to all the talented people who come across my feed. There have been times where I stopped myself from sharing because I thought it wAsn’T gOod EnoUgh. Or… silly but comical… the colors don’t match!!! Or…. people will think this is too wEiRd!!!!!!!! But here’s a reminder to you….there is someone successfully living their purpose right now selling art from recycled trash (and IT INSPIRES ME… and maybe she’ll be ME one day).
My point is…the more time you spend looking over your shoulder at the person next to you, you lose time, energy and investment in your own creative process. All that time lost you can’t get back. There are people in this world too afraid to start their own creative dream because of the “what ifs”, that they live a life unsatisfied and unhappy. Have you ever read The Alchemist? If you have, do you remember the owner of the china shop and what he tells Santiago about his dream? If you haven’t, it will be one of the best $10 you ever spend on a book. It literally changed my life and inspired me to move halfway across the country (which I don’t regret!)
Can we take a moment of silence to appreciate our greatest teacher? NATURE
You know with the infinite wisdom that nature offers me… I have learned more in the times reflecting with her, than I have spent in school.
She is the epitome of the imperfect perfections of the creative lifecycle. Astounding beauty in every form and season and stage she is in… from the blooming flowers of Spring, to the autumn hues of dying leaves, to the powdery snow and bare bones of the trees…the entire process is an act of recreating. There are thousands upon thousands of different flowers, all with their own unique aesthetic, and they aren’t selling each other courses on how to become the IT flower. Think about all the different species around the world …too many to name, and many we’re not even aware of.
The monotony of nature is that you never really get the same experience. She gives full permission to explore and create in the multidimensional ways of your soul’s existence.
Some days I am everything…some days I am nothing. Some days I am a mystic demystifying this physical plane, some days I am an artist with her hands full of clay, some days I am a plant whisperer playing with her herb garden, some days I am a cat taking multiple naps. And all of it makes me human.
Wishing you a flowing stream of creative brilliance,
玉
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