This is a simple message about creativity that could have saved me years of heartache. Maybe it can save you, too.

2. This is the story of a little boy who used to dance
and sing and dream and paint and write.

3. He didn’t realize he was being creative when he
did those things. He just did them because he
loved them.

4. One day he looked at the drawings the other
children in school were making, and he compared
them to his own.

5. He decided theirs were better, so he stopped
drawing.

6. He painted a picture and entered it in a contest,
but he lost. So he stopped painting, too.

7. He kept writing, but his words became less
playful and more serious.

8. He kept singing, but only when he was sure no one
could hear him.
And he stopped dancing.

9. The years went by, and he felt a hunger inside him.
He became a computer programmer, and
sometimes felt the way he used to feel.

10. He didn’t realize it was because computer
programming allowed him to be creative.

11. Then one day he decided to learn to play
piano.

12. It was hard at first, and sometimes embarrassing.
He made a lot of mistakes, but he never felt more
alive than when he was making music, so he kept
doing it.

13. Playing piano made him feel like he was dancing
with his hands and singing with his heart.

14. Soon he stopped being so formal in his writing,
and he allowed himself to dream again.

15. Eventually, he even allowed himself to draw.

17. This is my story, and these are my drawings.

18. I still draw like I did when I was a child, because I
let comparison and perfectionism stop my
progress.

19. But I’m no longer ashamed, and every day I
give myself permission to be me.

20. One thing I know for certain is that I’ll never get
better at something I don’t allow myself to do.

21. The creative child I used to be was always inside
me, always encouraging me to live more fully.

22. I’m finally listening.

23. Join me.

24. www.creativeresurgence.com