Everyone has an inner mirror. It’s a tool that reflects back to you a collection of thoughts, ideas, emotions and experiences that shape how you see yourself. Often your inner mirror is a bit dirty, carrying residue from what you consider failures, heartbreaks, mistakes or disappointments. Yet, this mucky buildup is really just the opportunity to see what needs to shift, so you can to break free from self-judgement and expand into creative freedom.
A common unconscious reaction is to try and break the mirror, hurling whatever you can at it to change what you see. Distractions. Drama. Drugs. Alcohol. Surfing online. Affairs. Workaholism. Avoidance. And the one thread that ties each of these elements together is their ability to add more muck to the mirror instead of cleaning it up. Now you have less creative freedom than before, and the mirror reflects even more chaos in your life.
Creative Freedom and Adjusting the Inner Mirror to Grow into Yourself
It takes guts to step out there in a new creative way, even if it’s within a familiar skillset. It’s a risky undertaking that offers up your soft underbelly and vulnerable ideas to the world, just as you are starting to trust them yourself. This is why checking in on the state of your inner mirror is so intertwined with the power of your creative freedom. You want to make sure that your butterflies of excitement about new creative ideas and projects are feeling supported and fed by inner confidence reflected from a clean surface. Not deflated by old, grungy residue from the past. Then, with no self-imposed limitations, true inner creativity has a pathway to the surface for expression.
So when you set out to adjust your inner mirror, look at the areas where you support yourself the least. That’s where you will have the most buildup and the most opportunity for growth.
For example, I’m an overthinker. Long past the expiration date of an odd interaction or heated exchange, I still loop back to thinking about it again and again. Usually I’m able to glean some insight and move on fairly quickly. Other times my mind spins and spins, second guessing how I chose to express myself and if I should have done it differently. Then my body chimes in, responding physically with a churning stomach or quickened heart rate. Sometimes my empathy also joins the game, and I end up feeling bad for the other person!
So, to clean my mirror effectively, I need a change of scenery, a walk, or to lay in the grass to reground myself and get out of my head. When back in balance, I’m able to see things from a neutral place where I’m not judging myself or the other person.
Your mirror is going to be completely different, as is your creative path. So take time to reflect on where you continue to get stuck in your life and what patterns show up for you again and again, to get a better sense of what needs cleaning first. Then try some yoga, meditation, diet changes, kick boxing, running, singing…whatever helps you engage with your self with sharpened clarity and a desire to see things differently rather than blaming the mirror itself, which is essentially, you.
Focus, Expansion and Growing New Creative Wings
Focus creates results, plain and simple. If you focus on being experimental and creative, you will have more opportunities to do so. Focus on how things can blow up, guess what happens? That’s why creativity can be so scary. It’s new, untested and nebulous; so many things can happen. However, with a clear inner mirror, you know if the truth you see is real. You can trust the little creative sparks to lead you through the darkness along the creative path to the next step.
The creative journey is filled with learning new things you like and want to pass over, what feels good and what no longer serves you and most importantly, what blend of light and dark reflects your inner truth. Don’t be afraid of what’s on the mirror, just get a rag, use a gentle touch to clean it, and start coaxing open those creative wings. It’s the most powerful way to be a bright and truthful mirror to yourself and the people who share your life. The real adventure is taking one day at a time to see where your wings take you next.
Photo credit: m.a.x. on Flickr