Energy CAN Be Created
Create something new to boost your energy level
I am a writer, but more generally, I am a creator… of art, craft, jewelry, food, drink, ideas, a business, parties, environments, experiences, educational tools, and so much more. I love the process of creation and its outcomes, but recently I’ve been considering an unexpected result… a by-product… energy. Strange, I exert energy when I create something, but afterwards, I have more energy! What is that about?
I pondered the possibility that it could be connected to Einstein’s Laws of Thermodynamics, you know, E = mc², but even wired-up on Diet Coke, I couldn’t make that make sense, so I abandoned that line of thought.
But what about emotion? When we are happy, we feel more energy, maybe creation provides me emotional energy. OK, that has potential. Here’s an example… If my phone rang right now, and it was my friend Erica Lee, I can guarantee you I would experience a boost of what I would describe as “energy.” That would be an emotional response to a specific trigger producing energy. There is also something about creating — art, literature, food — that makes me happy and increases my energy, during both the process of creation, and upon completion. I feel a definite sense of FLOW that I call energy during the process, and satisfaction, love, and wonder when I connect to what I have created afterward. Granted, if I don’t like what I created, which does sometimes happen, energy may flow out of me instead of into me, but in either case, it is emotion affecting energy.
I will pause to vet this concept…
Hello! Who knew there was a whole field of scientific research dedicated to the study of emotional energy? I cannot say more about this right now, but suffice to say, I’ve discovered something new to research! For now, what’s intriguing is while we often think of energy as something physical, and its increase or decrease as related to quantity and/or quality of sleep, food, physical activity, vitamins and minerals, energy is also affected by emotion, positive and negative.
Following my earlier train of thought, creation stimulates positive emotion, which then fuels our ability to engage, work harder, and produce more of whatever. Logistically then, I posit the equation goes something like this…
This presents a strong argument for taking a time-out to consider our individual creativity and the types of things we might enjoy creating. I know people who believe they “don’t have a creative bone” in their bodies, but that is simply not true. We are born with a creative impulse; children demonstrate that impulse regularly before it is stifled and driven out of them as they mature. This point is made abundantly clear by Brenda Ueland in her brilliant and lovely book, If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit.
There are so many ways to express our creativity, to create something new, to be creative! You don’t even need to add anything to your daily routine, you can do the things you regularly do, but change-up how you do them. Take cooking, for instance, you can cook something new, use a different spice, put flavors together that you’ve never tried before, vary the cooking method, the options are endless. You can get ideas from the internet and try what appeals to you. If you’re not a cook, try a little creativity while doing your job, whatever that might be. Try creating a smile on the face of a customer, singing a song while working, pairing different socks or shoes with your clothes, driving to the office by a new route, re-organizing your workspace; you get the point. Want more ideas? I recently discovered the Instructables website…
Creating generates energy. It’s just more obvious with some people than others… artists, chefs, writers, gardeners, knitters, etc. Teaching in multiple disciplines over the past 20 years, I’ve had the opportunity to guide thousands of students through the process of creation, and I’ve witnessed the capacity of each and every one of them to create. One day when this pandemic is over, I plan to do workshops that will help people re-discover their powers of creativity.
For now, I encourage everyone to create something. And if you are already a creator, I encourage you to try something new in your process to infuse a little more energy into your life. Create something, anything, without expectation, judgment or concern about the outcome. Just create for the sake of experiencing the creative impulse inside you and for the energy boost it will give you. Don’t forget the positive emotions released through creation, and the power those emotions have to improve our mental health. Joy and happiness invigorate us, increase our ability to engage, make and produce, and ultimately lead to greater success in life, whether we define success as financial security, loving relationships, or world peace.
Want more of anything in your life? Get creating!
