Your Permission Slip

 Dear You, 

I give you permission to be creative. 

This will mean trying things you haven’t tried before. Sometimes this will feel great and other times it will feel like you are the biggest joke on the face of the earth. Both of these feelings are fine, even though one is generally thought to be better than the other.  

I give you permission to be a beginner. 

Not just today but every day until you die. This means that you don’t have to be good (whatever that means). I give you permission to just enjoy yourself. There are absolutely no prizes for torturing oneself. The most tormented soul does not get a prize. So, enjoy.

I give you permission to call yourself, creative. 

Whether you’re singing in the shower, telling a joke around the lunch table or inventing new things to make for breakfast you are a creative being. You were born that way. People who are labelling you, more or less creative or placing you in some kind of strata are more interested in classifying and rating you, than they are in helping you. Avoid them at all costs or send them to me for a good hard talking to. They do not understand this basic fact: ‘Creativity is not a Competiton’.

I give you permission to call yourself a writer if you have written today. 

In fact, I encourage you to do so. I also give you permission to call yourself a photographer if you’ve taken a photo. And the same thing goes for singing, painting, dancing, acting, sculpting or whatever creative pursuit floats your boat. 

I give you permission to take as long as you like to finish a piece of creative work. 

In fact, I give you permission to never finish it as long as you are enjoying the journey. I also give you permission to say enough is enough, I don’t want to do this anymore.  Why would you create something that you didn’t want to create? 

I give you permission to create for yourself. 

Sure, you’ll want to share lots of what you do but it’s fine to create things just for you. I give you permission to be proud of the things that you create for whatever reason you like. Maybe, you liked the tone of your voice, or the shade of red on your canvas, or the feel of a movement as you danced. 

Finally, I give you permission to celebrate being creative, being alive and being you.

Kind Regards, 

Andrew ‘You didn’t really need my permission’ Wright