Creating with Conviction

Art is a personal expression of our thoughts, beliefs, hopes, and dreams. It gives us a voice that is clear and pointed in this noisy and often blurry world. We create in order to give ourselves an escape hatch from spending too much time ruminating about things in our heads. It gets our ideas out to the world giving us a platform to live our lives.

One of the things I’m exploring and would like to take a journey with you is the idea of creating with conviction. When we create some do so to make pretty things. There are other artists who use their art for political activism and still others who combine autobiography, beauty, and exploration. There are many who use their art as a spiritual practice delving to the depths of the soul through creativity.

Are we creating art with hesitancy either figuratively or literally? Are we editing ourselves before we even get the work out in the world? Are we fearful of our message or story that holds us back from fully expressing ourselves with conviction? I know this is a series of startling questions, but I do believe that conviction is a like a muscle; it gets stronger with use. I know personally that I have had many doubts when creating and instead of going through the fire I switch projects because it seems safe. I guess my next self-exploration is to flush out whether or not it’s really safe or a false sense of security.

I don’t know that I ever equated bravery with being an artist, but I am considering this as one of the components to art and healing. When we bring our true stories to life we stand taller. We are seen in the world and that means we knowingly are societal influencers. Our choice of creating with conviction deepens our spiritual practice. It announces to the world that we have set our priorities and our priorities include ultimate self-expression through art.

How does creating with conviction show up in your life?

Follow me on twitter: @GregKatz2

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