(There’s some swearing here, but I feel very strongly about this issue.)
I’ve been there. I bet you have too: standing in a bookstore or gift shop, holding a stunningly gorgeous blank book, tempted to buy it.
Don’t do it, my rational self would say. You have a stack of these at home!
But I’d buy it anyway, because I love beautiful things, and then I’d put it in the stack… where it would languish because I didn’t think my stuff was good enough to put in such gorgeous books.
THAT. IS. BULLSHIT.
I know this is a common affliction. The Artist’s Way even suggests buying cheap spiral-bound notebooks for your morning pages so you won’t be too intimidated to write. I’ve joked with friends about this, there are so many folks in this boat!
IT IS STILL BULLSHIT.
OK, let me use an extended metaphor for a little bit.
Imagine you’re going to meet someone for dinner, or coffee, or whatever. Romantic, not romantic, whatever. Doesn’t matter. This person? They are awesome. Super-important to you.
What do you wear? Grungy, dirty clothes with holes in ’em? Or do you wear your nicer stuff (maybe even your nicEST stuff!)?
Why?
Because you like them, and want to show it — you want them to like you, too. Dressing nicely is a way of showing respect in pretty much any culture, regardless of what “nicely” means in each case.
When you show up, you want them to look at you and know you respect them.
/end metaphor
In this metaphor, you are both people. It’s you and your muse meeting up to collaborate! Painting, writing, sketching, sculpting, whatever it is — it’s you two working together to make something awesome.
Do you want to show up in grubby clothing to meet your muse? Hell no! Your muse is important! The creative work you do is important. It is.
And that’s scary, which is okay. Big stuff is hella scary! That’s how we know it’s important — we get scared that we’ll try and fail, and because it matters so much, we don’t want to risk it.
But here’s the thing: Your creativity deserves to be respected and covered in beauty. Your creativity matters. It deserves better than to be tucked away in case you aren’t good enough.
Maybe make it a little secret, like a special piece of clothing nobody’s seen except your special someone, or wearing nice underwear under regular clothes.
Or be ostentatious! Tell the world you matter by whipping out your gorgeous blank book in the middle of a busy cafe and working in it!
Whatever you do, please believe this:
Your creativity deserves to be held in beauty.
I’m fucking sick of standing by while people force their muses into crappy old materials! I’m sick of hearing “oh, I don’t even want to write in it, it’s so beautiful!”
BULLSHIT!
I’ll say it again:
Your creativity deserves to be held in beauty.
Write it on a post-it and stick it on your desk.
Now go grab one of those blank books you own but don’t use. If you still feel like you’re not worthy, not good enough, tell yourself this: your muse is good enough. That creative spark inside your mind is good enough.
And if that nasty little voice many of us have in the back of our head starts to argue with you, tell it a badass roadie told you to do this, and knew what she was talking about.
I do know, because I’ve been there. Hell, some days I still am. But I know this much.
You are good enough.
Period.