Creativity renaissance

This unprecedented isolation time has reshaped humanity forever. From a complete shift to work from home to new ways to connect with our loved ones, I can’t believe how much we have changed as a whole in the spent of a year. Undeniably, one of the biggest positive outcomes of the pandemic lock-downs for my friends and I have been our return to our creative hobbies. The time we would have normally spent to be out and about was refocused on our long-neglected introverted activities and to my amazement, I’m discovering extraordinary talents among my social bubble I never suspected before.

One of my dearest friends is now painting those adorable and fun little square paintings with kink but not vulgar themes to themes. Absolute genius! I became, as of the past 15 minutes, the proud owner of 4 of her pieces and my excitement is palpable. These tiny masterpieces of pop conceptual humoristic art will be the conversation starter for my new visitors from now on.

Thanks to the free time we enjoyed not being distracted by the outside world, our energies got redirected to wonderful projects and I see a bright artistic future for my friend. Creativity for the sake of our enjoyment remains my favourite form of therapy. Having reconnected with my love of fine arts, there’s no way I will let an outside world agenda take this joy away from me ever again. It is essential because it makes me emotionally healthy and I will no longer feel guilty for spending my time doing something that use to be deemed as “not productive” in my past social circle. I can let go of my sadness and regrets for having to drop out of art school and can confidently plan a new life schedule that will prioritize artistic activities for my mental well-being.

To see the flood of new creations that has emerged around the globe gives me hope that once we start socializing again, we will do so with greater self-awareness, more fulfillment and balance. The multiple forms of mental health tools that were heavily promoted in the past year benefit us all. With optimism, I believe we will stay present to the power of solitude and maintain regular introspection and self-care practices from now on.