Staying Centred When The World Seems To Fall Apart
About Creativity And Small Steps
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I’m not going to lie: Finding a sense of balance and purpose when the world around us seems to be falling apart has been a challenge recently. The continuous erosion of human rights and the growing worldwide instability shakes my belief in whether everyone values what should be self-explanatory foundations of society on a near daily basis. I’m not superhuman or emotionally blunted—It definitely gets harder to stay focused on making a difference where I can.
Creativity has always been a refuge for me. Whether it's music, writing, or simply doodling or scrapbooking (something I’ve recently discovered with my daughter, and I cherish our crazy scrapbook sessions at weekends immensely), creating something from nothing (is it truly “from nothing” though? Nah…) still has a way of grounding me. It helps me to remember that I have it in me to find beauty and create something meaningful. With daily news of policies that threaten human well-being, rights and even life, creativity is a way to channel my frustration and fear into something positive, or at least to process my emotions. But most of all, it helps me to preserve, and even gain, new energy. And maybe energy is what we all need most right now because I don’t know about you: It’s hard not to feel tiredness and despair.
I’m currently participating in A Poem A Day March by @kathyparkerwriter and @lauragreaves. Why am I telling you about this? Well, first of all, I think you should take part ;) But that aside: Apart from re-engaging with writing poetry (which I used to love deeply but have written less over the years), and focusing my mind on something that motivates and excites me daily, it’s also a powerful reminder that even when the world feels divided, there are still spaces where we can come together and create something beautiful/meaningful. And even if that might seem insignificant to some—I think it matters, and I wrote about why before:
Baby Steps
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the world's problems. We all want to do something, but many of us feel paralysed. But maybe the small things that bring us, and others, happiness make a difference?
Finding the spaces that aren’t divided but share something, however small it might seem.
Taking strength from that and then getting to work—in our own sphere of influence.
Using creativity to gather the strength to keep on making the choices that align with our values.
Remembering that we are not alone—that collective voices and actions will send a message.
Because our actions, no matter how small, cast ripples. It’s easy to miss those small ripples when everything seems too big and frightening to handle. But taking care of ourselves so we can gather strength to contribute, to make a tangible difference to only one person’s life still matters. And they can go on to do the same…
I can’t even tell you where I’m going with this, but I guess not everything has to be profound or an instruction manual. Perhaps it’s just my way of saying:
Find and fiercely protect your creativity and your own ways of staying grounded. They aren’t self-indulgent. They are essential. Especially right now. And even though art helps us to stay well and heal, it is also always political. It’s impossible for it not to be, that’s why I will leave you with the words of Toni Morrison:
"This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom. Like art."
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A wonderful article, and this approach cannot be emphasized enough! Thanks for a great reminder.