The Scary Question Every Creative Soul Must Answer
I faced the crossroads again - and the universe gave me three magical signs.
Dear Brave Soul, we’re here to sing our very own song, an offering to life itself. Still, how to trust the powerful nudges that sit right beside fear? But first, a gift for our sponsor, Mama Ocean — a soothing song for your nervous system and your soul.
I live in Paradise here on the Salish Sea. But I can still ruin an afternoon thinking too hard about WTF I’m doing with my life.
Once again, I’m at a ridiculous creative crossroads, struggling with pure authentic expression versus providing what people want. There’s a perfect Venn diagram somewhere, but I’ve already danced with this question for too long. I took too many online business courses, researched too many niches, burned too many calories “finding my people” and “crafting my offer.” Value Proposition be damned!
Still, here’s the question: How do I stay true to my soul, pursue exactly what I’m here to do, and be of service to the community? Specifically, how do I show up for you here? Do you resonate with my offering, the ‘products’ of my soul? Will you subscribe, so my work will have ‘value’ in the marketplace? So I can market my novel, which is my life? Yikes.
The Law of Resonance is a concept that suggests that everything in the universe operates through vibrations and frequencies.
It means the frequency of your thoughts, emotions, and experiences will attract similar things in the outside world vibrating at the same frequency.
So, if we send out the signal of our most pure and authentic voice, in theory we’ll draw the people who need our message, and our medicine. Can I trust that if I sing my song and it magically finds your ears…
In a modern, material world, art = commerce.
The creative work, generated by our soul, can either:
(a) Enter the marketplace of ideas (online). To succeed, one must show up beautifully. Put on a lovely face. Be relatable. Fit a cultural norm. Give people what they want.
(b) OR remain safely in the mind, the desk drawer, studio, or very close to home.
My soul is clear. Sing my wild and precious songs, for the waters, for all life, and trust they will be received. (Trust the resonance. Trust the waters. Trust your voice.)
Mr. Monkey of Fear whispers, “No one will listen. At your age, no one cares. A privileged white woman, an indigenous practice? Not ok! Successful sound healers are young, gorgeous.”
At the crossroads, the universe drops three powerful signs on me.
Sign Number 1, a sound healing water ceremony:
Whaia1 (pronounced Fy-yah), a gorgeous Maori goddess, sings her way into the yurt, brave, powerful voice. She’s luminous, funny, real, grounded in lineage, practices what she preaches, a world leader, indigenous climate activist, and a humble and gracious generous soul. We were blessed by her voice and sounds that carried us to the ocean depths, with whale song, bird song, thrumming through our hearts. We breathed deeply, some of us slept, some of us danced, all felt moved, entranced, and grateful.
A living, breathing example of my high dream, she sings the sacred waters, soothes and inspires us, honoring the Earth. I thanked her, she embraced me; salt on our skin.
Sign Number 2: a fascinating cuttlefish in “Playground,” a novel by Richard Powers:
The creature was pulsing in the most extraordinary colors… patterns of reds and oranges and pale greens cycled across its skin like the strobing lights in a disco. Was it signaling? No… it was reciting a fabulous color soliloquy. The singer might have been singing to other cuttlefish nearby in some other way that she couldn’t know.
Still without any audience but the open water, the singer started dancing. His arms pinwheeled, then drew in. They stabbed out in opposing directions, like some choreographed move by Martha Graham. Going through the intricate steps of a ritual.
This passage I read ‘randomly’ carries the resonance of my daily ritual. To sing for the open water as a dance of beauty. A gift, not for an audience, but for pure joy.
Sign Number 3: On The Screenwriter’s Life podcast, Jac Schaeffer, writer/creator of WandaVision (a fantastical, witchy, deep, ‘made me cry’ show) said, “What I look for in a writer is someone who brings kindness, optimism, and believes it’s gonna work out.”
I sing for water, because she sings right back to me, in waves:
Even if you’re scared. It’s gonna work out.
Even if it sucks right now. It’s gonna work out.
We’re together in this big, interconnected world. It’s gonna work out.
I believe this with 100% of my soul. So let’s keep singing.
🗣️ Your turn, brave soul: What's the scary question your creative spirit keeps whispering? What signs is the universe dropping at your crossroads? Share your magic signals below - I believe they're everywhere, waiting for us to notice.
Thank you for being brave and adding to our conversation. This weekly love letter is for brave souls who want to create freely from the heart. If you resonate, please subscribe, support this work, buy me a dirty chai. Thank you! 💝 More to come,
Ah the modern day Million Dollar question! Been trying to help my clients with this … currently searching for signs myself. What is needed isn’t what is valued, is it? Keep singing, my friend!