Creative lives: flow, not struggle

I was born in a small town near the Danube and the Black Sea, in a very intellectual and artsy environment. Since the 1st grade I went to The Arts High School before switching to maths-physics in the last 4 years of the mandatory learning cycle. I took piano for 8 years, and painting, sculpture, art history and music history and all of that. Gave piano recitals and dreamt to reach a bigger, more artsy country or city.

When I moved to Bucharest the world or culture and arts opened up a bit. Even though I went to The Academy of Economics, my artsy heart kept her rythm and I chose creativity and communication as my career. I was blessed to always love the job, even though not always the people. I brought to life many stories, commercial, NGOs and causes, art and culture festivals, TEDxBucharest event. I worked with people from all around the world and now I travel for art as far as New York or Iceland.

I have such a rich portfolio, but fuelled by the same thing: my passion for creativity and creative acts.

I watched over the years colleagues of mine renounce this path some with anger, some with melancholia. While I remained as passionate as on my 1st day. I never counted hours of working, many a times went with less than 5 hours of sleep per day and health was not a priority.

I was taught that creation must consume me until the result comes from a part so deep inside my soul that its authenticity will never be questioned by anyone.

Little by little my health went on a descending path and my body got so sick I couldn’t even get out of bed. Creation was definitely out of any question. Since 2018 when I went on my entrepreneurship journey and increased all my activity parameters, I never stopped to just…be. Every autumn, I went through 1 to 3 month periods of not having ideas or inspiration and not having any drive to pour my imagination into real things. Every year for the past 6 years. Until one day I realised this was a pattern I had to address and heal once and for all.

Then I went back to my first relation with creative work and childhood associations I made in my mind. I grew up thinking that the artist, the creative person must suffer for the art, the idea. He or she leads a life of less happy moments so that the work value prevails as more authentic, more raw. I studied a lot of artists along the years and as a communicator collaborated with a lot. And yes, many of them lead chaotic, complicated, unhealthy lives. And they burn fast. And somehow we still glorify this, we still replicate this.

Looking back and knowing what I know now from my own experience, this narrative is wrong on so many levels. Being a creative person with longevity depends a lot on the way you are living your life every day. Some of the most productive creatives lead lives of balance, with clean diets and a lot of exercise and sleep.

Creativity is poured from a full well, not from an empty jar.

I finished recently The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin. If you don’t know who he is, just Google his name and you’ll get an array of famous artists he has mentored, produced, guided along the years. If you know who he is, you probably have read his book before me. Not a revolutionary book in the sense that you might be waiting. But a revolutionary book by the simplicity of its messages.

The recipe is simple. Find inspiration in everything around you. Be grateful for the ideas you get. Create without a money purpose. Lead a life that is balanced, not tormented. Then, your creative acts will have coherence, depth, meaning and most of all, good, healthy value.

In a recent interview with Andrew Huberman (promoted like it’s the Holy Graal of Creativity), the same happened. There are no recipes for the ultimate greatness in creativity. But there are recipes for a healthy, balanced life so that creativity per se can spring out of you every day.

So….I think it is time we changed this expired, unreal paradigm of connecting creation to struggle. Let’s connect it with flow. Real, productive, long-living creative people lead healthy lives with incredibly structured routines.

Yes, you know it: movement everyday, connection with nature, moments of meditation or introspection, sleep, nurturing food and smart supplements, healthy relationships and communities around. Everyday. Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Creativity is a wonderful gift our species has. I intend to cherish it for as long as I live. Be blessed!

If you want to explore more of your creative essence and that 5th house of creativity that you have, but don't know where to start, we can dive deeper together. A creativity and joy chart is just one consultation away. Send me a kind note: hello@roxanamarin.life / Instagram Women Are Healing. About me: Creativity & Communication Awarded Expert, +20 yrs practice ☀️ Healing modalities Guide, Practitioner & Promoter 🌼 Founder @womenarehealing 🌞 Astrologer ☀️ Artist & Arts connoisseur