“Create before you consume.” ~ Marie Forleo
These words inspired me in December to re-order my early morning routine and remind me that we are all here to be creative artists. Whether or not we paint or make music or write, we are artists of life. We each continually create with our choices and how we spend our time and our mental and emotional energy.
On any day we can create miracles and we can create misery, with our thoughts and our focus and our actions.
We are creative artists living in a culture that is dangerously tilted toward consumerism.
Each morning, as soon as I turn on my computer up pops an enormous banquet of ideas, recipes, articles, books, perspectives (and cute shoes) vying for my attention. I love gathering ideas and stories, being informed and getting inspired - and yes, finding the rare combination of cute and super comfortable shoes!
And the over-abundance of all of this easily distracts me.
Consuming is seductive and may pull us away from the most true and unique gifts we are each here to bring to the world.
So for the last two months, every morning I commit my best, most productive hours to meditation, prayer and writing, to diving deeply into my creative projects before I check email, read other people’s articles or the news, or look at ads.
Create before you consume.
Several of my clients have taken this concept to heart and found their own ways to honor their creativity. One recently told me, “I feel more alive and more on-purpose and amazingly I have less need to over-eat or to spend money when I remember I am primary a creator, not a consumer!”
What is your relationship with creating and consuming?
What are you creating today?