Create, love, inspire!

‘The soul’s freedom lies in its creativity’.

This is a quote I came up with when I was taking a Philosophy class and it’s one that has stuck with me over the years.

People can become so trapped; hiding what they think and what they feel: unable to bare their soul for fear of ridicule; of being hurt; of rejection…We become prisoners of that fear and, to use another quote, as the great Baz Luhrman once wrote –

‘A life lived in fear is a life half-lived’.

Creativity is a gift we are given, the key to escaping the prison of our minds. It allows us to express those thoughts and feelings which we cannot always voice: an artist uses a brush; a writer uses the pen; a musician uses an instrument; a dancer uses their body…

Whatever the tool, it works as a release. We put a piece of ourselves into every creation and in doing so, free ourselves. Only the truly creative being is truly free.

I think this is what I love most about the arts, especially theatre. It absolutely celebrates creativity! Every person involved in this industry possesses a creative soul and whether they are on the stage, behind it, or still trying to reach it, they are putting that creativity on display for all to see. Ever heard a piece of music and felt the tears well in your eyes, but you don’t know exactly why? Ever watched the graceful movements of a dancer and found yourself impassioned by them? How about when you open a book and something in the words connects with you and compels you to keep reading? A painting, a song, a poem…when it touches you in some way, that is the creativity within speaking to you: it draws you in and makes you feel! It never fails to move and inspire me.

I am a creative, yet complex person. I am passionate, but sometimes choose indifference – I am proud to be in touch with my emotions, but I fight to hide them – I am full of love, but run from it – I long for adventure, but also find pleasure in banality – experience has made me cynical, but I still believe in hope and positivity – I feel older and wiser than my years, but also so young and inexperienced – I am confident and speak my mind, but inside I am self-conscious and full of doubt – I love the person that I am now, but there are times when I loathe myself too... My mind can be a strange, but wonderful place; swirling with so many thoughts and emotions that sometimes I find myself simply overwhelmed by them all and if I didn’t find a way to let them out then I think I’d go crazy!

So I embrace this gift of creativity. I use it as my outlet for all the joy, the fear, the hurt and hope that I have within me. I’m not a singer, I’m not a dancer; I’m not a musician, I’m not an artist. I have love for all of these things and will sometimes turn to them, but I just don’t know how to use them to fully express what I want to say; I can’t use them as my own personal outlet. No…the outlet for my creativity is my writing.

When things get too much I write it all down, letting out all the tension and confusion through the ink of my pen. When I want to fight for a cause I believe in I write it all down, pouring that passion and fire onto the page. When an idea strikes and inspiration consumes my thoughts I write it down, desperate to put it into words before it disappears back into the ether.

There is beauty in the written word. Words…just a random mass of singular nouns, verbs and adjectives yet, when you put them together in the right order, they can have such power. You can use them to convey exactly what lies deep in your soul and evoke those same thoughts and feeling in those who read them. There’s another quote - which is one of my favourites, I absolutely love it – that seems apt here, ‘Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we?’ (Terri Guillemets). It is every writer’s hope that their words will somehow reach out and touch someone in some small way…Yes, I am a writer.

Another way I express my creativity is through my tattoos. Many people look on tattoos as ugly; defacing your skin and being something you’ll regret in your latter years - tattoos are just another form of art, using the human body as their canvas. They have been a part of human expression for thousands of years. It is only in our modern society that they have become ‘trendy, fashion-accessories’, made popular by celebrities like Cheryl Cole and Angelina Jolie…for most people, the tattoo is a style choice; it’s lost its meaning.

Not for me. I have five tattoos and not one of them is a Tweety-pie bird, a butterfly or a random (and probably incorrect) Chinese word! I couldn’t bear to go into a tattoo parlour and just pick one from the wall, knowing hundreds of other people would be walking around with that exact same one – I designed each of mine and considered them for at least six months before making the decision to have them inked. My tattoos are unique and personal to me, each one detailing a chapter in the story of my life:

1: Dragon - right shoulder. I was 18 when I had my first inking. The dragon represented my fascination with the mythical and fantasy - always appealing to my imagination. I was also a huge wrestling-lover at the time: the struggles and sacrifices of the journey to the ring resonated with me, so I wanted that represented as well. I chose the Undertaker symbol as its supernatural aspect was another fascination of mine.

2: The Eye of Horus – left shoulder. I had my second inking about five years after the first. Egyptian history has also been an interest of mine and ‘the wedjat’ represents the sun; it is an ancient symbol of protection, power and good health. I also added the number thirteen above it in Egyptian numerology – always preferring to swim against the current; thirteen is my lucky number, simply because others see it as being unlucky.

3: ‘Bad Wolf’ – right wrist. I love Doctor Who. I discovered it at a very hard time in my life and the freedom and adventure it portrayed spoke to me, offering me a distraction from the difficulties of reality. ‘Bad Wolf’ (if you’re not a Who-fan, it will take too long to explain what this means) not only signifies that, but also stands for the importance of connection – of two people being linked to one another; an unbreakable bond.

4: ‘Chloe’ – left hand. This is my daughter’s name. To make it extra special to me, it’s in her own handwriting too – whenever I look at it, I will always see her at five years old… J

5: Phantom mask – right ankle. Yes, The Phantom of the Opera is my favourite musical, but no; that’s not what this tattoo is for. Wholly. What I love about PotO is the passion and the need for music and creativity that runs through the entire story. It speaks to me and I find it inspiring. Mostly though, the mask represents the rediscovery of my love for theatre. Moving away from London and raising a child alone led to me abandoning it for a while, but an impulsive decision to watch the 2004 film version of Phantom reignited it within me: I haven’t looked back since.

I’m sure some of you reading this will think some of my inkings are – well, crap! That’s fine. To me though, they have meaning, each and every one of them. It’s the only reason anyone should get a tattoo. The first tattoo I had – would I necessarily have still chosen it today? Perhaps not, but I don’t regret it. Each one is a part of me and my story. I can look at them and remember a piece of my past, a piece of me; of who I used to be and my journey to who I am now.

Creativity is such a vital ingredient of life. It can lead you to the path of happiness and, while it can’t promise that you’ll find it, it can provide a light in the darkness to help you find your way.

Creativity is not just for the Self though; it is so much more. It can touch people, change lives and inspire! Envision a world without imagination…oh, what a dark place it would be indeed. That is why we must always encourage and support the creative soul.

When I first started writing this blog, I was writing for myself. Gradually though, more and more people began to take an interest in what I had to say. As much pleasure as I get from writing for its own sake; to know that people were reading it and appreciating my words – even taking the time to tell me how much it resonated with them…well, it gives me such a sense of fulfilment. It’s an incredible feeling.

I am so fortunate with the writing opportunities that have opened up to me this year. I get to write about my passion for the theatre sites I work for; I may not be getting rich off it, but it doesn’t matter because I do it for the love of it. My blog has become a place where I am free to express any and all of my thoughts and feelings and offer people a taste of my world. I am so lucky in that I have these platforms to share my creativity with everyone – so many don’t.

That is why I am such an ardent advocate for the support of new writing. This country is full of amazingly talented people who have a world of creativity inside them that is being repressed and denied! All too often now, the creativity of others is being recycled instead of there being a belief and trust in our own. These people who are being stripped of their voices are still creating, they can’t be prevented from doing that – but where is that true sense of fulfilment if they can’t share their work?

Creativity and originality are essential in building for the future and inspiring the next generation. If they’re not allowed to shine through, then that dark world I spoke of? It might not be so far away. So embrace your creativity and that of others – encourage it, nurture it and please, support it! 

“There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.”  — Martha Graham

Remember, create, love, inspire!

Miss Julie