I'm in the middle of reading listening to Big Magicand oh my goodness you guys, it's a must-read. I was listening to it while I was packing yesterday, and definitely cried just from the sheer fact of hearing someone so perfectly explain how I've felt pretty much my whole life. She talks about the relationship between creativity and fear and the need to create, to be writing.
She writes, "I often don't know how I feel about something until I write about it." Yes, yes, yes.
I love writing. I love words. I truly believe that words have the power to change the entire world. And sometimes, they do. Sometimes you write and the words you create touch someone deeply. Sometimes, they don't. Sometimes the words you write are just for you. But you have to keep creating.
I think creating comes in all shapes and genres. It's not always artistic. I think that everyone has their one thing. The thing that breathes life into them, the thing they feel they were just made to do. For Chris, his one thing is surgery. He'll spend 18 hours on his feet and be covered in all sorts of awful gunk and come home feeling awake and ecstatic and alive (he's a lot like Christina Yang, y'all).
For me, my one thing is writing. Writing everything. And because of that, I don't think my blog will ever fit into one little niche. I'm a mom now, so I need to write about that, but I don't want a mommy blog. I'm a wife, so I need to write about that, but I don't want a marriage blog. I'm moving, so I need to write about that, but heavens knows I'm not about to have a home decor blog.
I need to write about it all, because writing is my one thing. And much like Elizabeth Gilbert, I often don't know how I feel about something until I write about it.
So I guess I just wanted to say: Create. Do your one thing. Do it without worrying if it is going to be life-changing. Do it without worrying that it doesn't fit the "brand" you're trying to have for yourself. Do it without wondering how many mistakes you're making. Do it without the pressure to be perfect, to create the next product that goes viral on Etsy, to write the post that gets shared thousands of times, to get promoted faster than anyone else. Just. Do. It.
Write because you need to. Become a doctor because you need to. Paint because you need to. Run because you need to. Build because you need to. Go back to school because you need to. Create, create, create, create.
