Staying in the Creative Flow: When your Passion is Also Your Job
Updated: Nov 24, 2020
I started Elixirs for Life a year and a half ago. It was so exciting. Everything was shiny and full of potential. Starting out everything felt like so much fun. I didn’t put too much pressure on myself because I didn’t really have too many expectations. I just LOVED learning about plants, sharing information and making new formulas was literally playtime in the kitchen.
Soon, we were busy, becoming successful—so, naturally I panicked. Now, that we’re ‘a real business’ I felt like I had to be more professional. Although I had no idea what that meant I still became overwhelmed trying to do everything perfectly and professionally. Has this ever happened to you? Starting something new (an adventure, job, new home, new relationship) feels so easy, but soon you find yourself bogged down in all the the things that. Aren’t. Going. Exactly. The. Way. You. Want.
Now, I need to preface this next part by saying I am insanely grateful for all of the support from everyone. I’m sooo proud of how far we’ve come over this last year and a half. Seriously, you’ll never know how much I appreciate everyone that purchases our products, recommends them to a friend, shares a newsletter article, or just simply sends a note saying how much the products have meant to them. You're the best—thank you!!
But still, there are days where I found myself taking it all too seriously, getting bogged down in the details; all of which, to be honest completely sucks the fun and joy out of what we’re doing. Oh, and then I’d top it all off by making myself feel guilty for feeling badly (it’s the script that goes like; ‘I don’t have the right to feel grumpy when I get to do my dream job). Guilt on top of grumpiness is a bad combo—not recommend.
I’ve seen this exact thing happen to young artists, designers, photographers; people that started out loving what they were doing, but soon stopped having fun. I knew it could happen to creative people, but for some reason I didn’t think it applied to entrepreneurs. Then the lightbulb went off. Being an entrepreneur IS a creative expression. Just like being an artist, becoming a parent, or taking on a new role in life; all of those endeavours are a creative expression. And nothing, I mean NOTHING takes the fun out of creativity like being too serious. Too serious about revenue, too serious about marketing, too serious about emails (ugh!). All of that just kills creativity instantly.
So the question for me was, how do I stay in the fun, creative flow without getting too serious. And you know what? I had the answer! It had been sitting in a cupboard for years.
But I didn’t use it.
Why, oh why must I learn the hard way sometimes? I guess it’s so that I can share my foibles with you :)
When I started my research into the spiritual and energetic properties of plants I become aware of a lovely little tree called coralwood. On the energetic and spiritual level coralwood is all about playfulness and spontaneity. The best way to describe its energy is that it’s like cotton candy. It light, sweet, and feels a bit…risky? Risky in a way that you think twice before eating cotton candy, like ‘I wonder what that much sugar is going to do to my body?’ :) Turns out, its nothing like a four-year old on a sugar rush! Instead it allows you to come into lightheartedness; shifting into experiencing the learning and expansiveness of your creation, so you can feel the joy of it.
So, here I was in this puzzle; I’m aware that I’m being too serious, I knew that I needed some support, had some coralwood essence tucked away, but I was NOT interested in it! You know why? Because I was worried it was going to make me irresponsible.
Somehow I had this weird belief that you can’t be creative AND responsible. Ha! Let me tell you, plead with you in fact, to say that’s not true. I’ve learned that’s a misunderstanding that will make you grumpy, stressed-out, or resentful. Creativity is natural! It’s meant to flow through all of us without a filter of false expectations. This world needs creativity! It needs that special, unique and beautiful expression of you! Whatever your creative expression is, it must come through without being chipped away at by false judgements, expectations, or criticisms.
Have you ever been to a home that was so heart-filling because it was just such a pure expression of that person’s/family’s soul? I have. It’s inspiring. Not because of the cost of the furniture, or the name on the art, but because it’s a fulfilled expression and reflection of who they really are—and it’s beautiful. You can also call this authenticity. When someone or something is truly authentic it touches us in a way that inspires, and awakens our own authentic expressions. The world will always crave more of this!
So what gets in our way of authentic expressions of creativity? Lots of stuff. Probably a multitude of false beliefs, misunderstandings that undermine self-esteem, unrealistic expectations, and likely ego. It’s a long list. But the gold, your authentic creative expression is the goal. So, back to coralwood.
I got the essence out, (I was still scared of it) and I used it. Everyday for thirty days, I would rub a little on the bottom of my feet, and the palms of my hands. Nothing really happened at first. A few more days, still nothing. After about 24-25 days I felt a shift. You know the kind of shift that feels more like a realization? And you’re like “Oh, why couldn’t I see that before! Being overly responsible is not a good thing! It makes me too serious and grumpy. That wasn’t so scary. I wish I’d done this sooner.” That was it.
Shift happens :)
I know some of you can relate to this, maybe you’re even going through it yourself. But you may not have a bottle of coralwood lying around. I have good news! Every plant has a unique vibrational frequency. You can access/replicate the frequency of that plant with a code. The code for coralwood is 65-7-85-7-21.
Here’s how you use it. Say each number slowly out loud (sixty-five, seven, eighty-five, seven, twenty one). At about the same pace you’d say a mantra. Say it three times, and take a deep breath. Notice how you feel. Do you feel different? Lighter? Try again tomorrow. Notice what you notice. Try it for thirty days. Notice what you notice.
Please remember, your creative expression is a gift to the world. It does NOT matter whether you're creating art, a meal, raising a child, training a dog, or growing corn. When you create or care for something with a joy-filled heart we ALL benefit. What matters is that you do the thing. Whatever that thing is—do it.
Thanks little coralwood. You saved me.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it with a friend (sharing buttons below), like it, or if you try the code, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear about your experience.
Oh, and as a reminder your requests for personal customized formulations are always welcome!
Xoxo,
Kandis