Many of us want to be a Dj nowadays, a photographer - an “artistic concept” of a human being creating and racking up Instagram likes and all that glittery virtual validation. Whatever gives your ego the big “O,” whatever makes you feel like your trauma and insecurities can transform into art. And while this sounds cheeky and pointed, it’s also completely understandable. It’s why I’m writing this out for you, compared to cranking it out in a journal. People want to connect; we want to be inspired, to inspire each other. We want to feel that our emotions are valid, that they are real and exist outside of our heads.
There is something so declarative about the social-emotional climate. I see a deeply intrinsic sense of insecurity that blends into our most basic desire for human connection. Something I’ve been saying recently is that everyone is on their timeline; someone else’s success and fulfillment happen on their timeline, where they are at in life as emotionally-conscious human beings. People express and create, and exist at their own level. I think that’s divine. It’s you. We’re on this journey alone, surrounded by other people alone on their journey, meandering through life with unique hopes and desires. And the truth is that it shouldn’t matter whether or not another person or the world validates our existence. Validating my existence, my creativity, just having the balls- it’s been the most brutal and beautiful headspace to be in. That doesn’t come from someone else; it’s from you. It’s you, walking into your own dawn, becoming your own sunshine.
So, dear reader, wherever you are, whoever you are- choose to meet your dawn. Create, feel, and journey into yourself. Dance with your demons. Befriend your pain. Hold yourself through the dark night of your soul. Be gloriously yourself, for yourself. Be the friend, be the lover, and be the biggest supporter you’ve ever had. No one’s going to do it for you.
Walk into your dawn. The worst that can happen is that the strokes you paint, the words you write, the images you take, and the music you create will all lead you deeper into yourself. That’s art. You are art.
In the wise words of Jim Carrey, “risk being seen in all of your glory”.