"...and instead on making it something heartfelt and true, real and honest, aligned and fully me." And that IS what makes your writing so powerful, so special, and absolutely incredible. I don't consider myself a creative, and so I don't fully understand the desire to be unique with my creativity (because I just assume anything I create is subpar and generic lol) but please keep showing up the way that you are. As always, I feel so honored to be able to read what you have to write and share. Thank you for being you.
You absolutely are creative simply by being -- we're so conditioned to believe being a creative requires something (skill, a job, a tangible result), yet creativity is inherent in all of us. I know how easy it is to think creativity needs to look a certain way to be valid -- I hope we can each, slowly and over time, break down that belief and recognize our own creativity in all its forms. Thank you for your presence here <3
Thank you for these words, Lisa. I've been struggling for a little while with having to shelve a passion of mine, and this post of yours has reminded me - and made it okay - that I (and my work, my passion, whatever that may be) am unique because I am me and that is mine.
It is so okay. And maybe even a necessary part of the whole process sometimes -- that stagnant, needing-to-shelf-it-for-a-while part might hold its own wisdom somewhere. Thank you for being here <3
This post is a beautiful example of what you are sharing. This idea isn't new to me but something about the way you shared it really hit me in the heart and led me to consider again some of the out of order ideas I am still carrying around about my own life and creativity. ❤️
Thank you for sharing this -- the "out of order ideas" feeling so real and I relate deeply. It's such a sigh of relief to know we can reconsider, again and again, anytime we need to. <3
Thank you for this beautiful piece! I often find myself thinking that unless I can be the best at what I do, I shouldn‘t even be doing it in the first place. Reading your words and being reminded of the fact that you do not need to be the best at anything in order for that work to matter felt deeply nourishing🤍 sending you so much love🫶🏻✨
I don’t know how you keep writing the things I need to read, but you do, and I am grateful for your intentional approach here in this Sunday morning space. And, I happen to love encountering variations on a theme across the work of writers and artists as well as in my conversations with loved ones. It feels serendipitous. For example, just after reading your essay today, I saw this quote posted by Toko-pa Turner, excerpted from her gorgeous book Belonging:
“Make no mistake--the temple of originality is not
yours alone, but something we're building together. After all, we share the same origins and one day we will, like all our ancestors, return to them. In the meantime, creativity is essential to belonging because it serves as a way for us to recognize each other. We listen for that pulse of originality coming through us, giving it the unique form that comes from our particular encounter with it. And as we make beauty from our origins, we find networks of people just like us, adding their voice to a thing we're all trying to make real.
As extensions of nature, we need our differences to thrive. Some people will be the fire of inspiration you need to inch you closer to your edges, and others will look to you for that push. Originality needs many emissaries with different voices to get its message across. Like a choir, every voice is necessary to make a grand swell."
This was timely. It’s got me wondering in my life WHEN I felt everything I made needed to be the best. It’s why in college I struggled with finishing assignments because everything needed to be perfect to be turned in and who has the time for all that? I loved the emphasis on creating out of devotion and all the parts of us and valuing highly how the act of creating makes us feel 1st, an audience of one 1st. This convo makes me curious how to emphasize our enoughness in school settings where I think so much of us are taught this narrative. Thank you for this weeks food for thought.
What a beautiful essay. I've shared it amongst my artist friends, but am now re-reading through the lens of my students, as it's pertinent across so many contexts. This essay--shared by another Substack author (Whitaker or Peterson, I can't remember) brought me to Lisa Olivera's writing and I am so very glad that it did!
I'm in the right place. This is my first foray into Human Stuff and after reading this newsletter, without the context of your larger work, I deeply love your voice. Your rich contemplations of the experience you are having and the connections you are feeling is clear and unifying.
I imagine that your ideas stir the hearts of any who have felt doubt and have been bullied to believe that perfection is the goal. I have less fingers and toes than all the times I've kept myself from creating. It's always a creeping sense of doubt that hampers my creative flow, like all of a sudden I'm running with large dumbbells. I'd get some of the way there but never finish. "May we let a desire to do what we do be proof of its belonging." Thank you for writing that.
I stumbled on the Taylor Hawkins video this week as well! It's a deep reminder of the generational spirit that flows through family. He can go on and become a great drummer or a great plumber. That wonderful tribute will remain a reflection of love and honor.
This. Is. Everything. I have so much to say at yet nothing to say at all. I’m speechless. Thank you for sharing this validating human experience. I want to embrace creativity and create something out of nothing. I will remember that only I can create what I create because I am the only one that is me. So fantastic. Thank you thank you thank you.
I wrote something really similar a little while ago about not having to be the best at everything we do. I think a lot of 90s kids felt this pressure that something was only worth doing if you were going to be the best at whatever it was. And I am trying to unlearn that now as an adult because that shit is exhausting!!
Thanks for making me smile and lifting my spirits, Lisa, with your beautiful and honest insights. ❤️ I've been struggling with perfectionism, so 'Not every season is for thriving' and 'Not the best' speak right to my heart. Thanks for giving voice to our soul's deepest sentiments by being uniquely you, with your gentle candour and poetic prescience. ❤️
Thank you for your words, they get to the heart of the matter as usual. Please keep writing as you do, heartfelt and real. Your writing is the highlight of my week.
"...and instead on making it something heartfelt and true, real and honest, aligned and fully me." And that IS what makes your writing so powerful, so special, and absolutely incredible. I don't consider myself a creative, and so I don't fully understand the desire to be unique with my creativity (because I just assume anything I create is subpar and generic lol) but please keep showing up the way that you are. As always, I feel so honored to be able to read what you have to write and share. Thank you for being you.
You absolutely are creative simply by being -- we're so conditioned to believe being a creative requires something (skill, a job, a tangible result), yet creativity is inherent in all of us. I know how easy it is to think creativity needs to look a certain way to be valid -- I hope we can each, slowly and over time, break down that belief and recognize our own creativity in all its forms. Thank you for your presence here <3
Thank you for these words, Lisa. I've been struggling for a little while with having to shelve a passion of mine, and this post of yours has reminded me - and made it okay - that I (and my work, my passion, whatever that may be) am unique because I am me and that is mine.
It is so okay. And maybe even a necessary part of the whole process sometimes -- that stagnant, needing-to-shelf-it-for-a-while part might hold its own wisdom somewhere. Thank you for being here <3
Thanks, Lisa! I found that writing about it really helped, but at the (temporary) expense of it touching a deeper nerve than I had anticipated! :D
This post is a beautiful example of what you are sharing. This idea isn't new to me but something about the way you shared it really hit me in the heart and led me to consider again some of the out of order ideas I am still carrying around about my own life and creativity. ❤️
Thank you for sharing this -- the "out of order ideas" feeling so real and I relate deeply. It's such a sigh of relief to know we can reconsider, again and again, anytime we need to. <3
Thank you for this beautiful piece! I often find myself thinking that unless I can be the best at what I do, I shouldn‘t even be doing it in the first place. Reading your words and being reminded of the fact that you do not need to be the best at anything in order for that work to matter felt deeply nourishing🤍 sending you so much love🫶🏻✨
I'm so glad you felt that reminder -- it's needed for all of us sometimes. Myself included. Thank you for being here. <3
What’s up?
I don’t know how you keep writing the things I need to read, but you do, and I am grateful for your intentional approach here in this Sunday morning space. And, I happen to love encountering variations on a theme across the work of writers and artists as well as in my conversations with loved ones. It feels serendipitous. For example, just after reading your essay today, I saw this quote posted by Toko-pa Turner, excerpted from her gorgeous book Belonging:
“Make no mistake--the temple of originality is not
yours alone, but something we're building together. After all, we share the same origins and one day we will, like all our ancestors, return to them. In the meantime, creativity is essential to belonging because it serves as a way for us to recognize each other. We listen for that pulse of originality coming through us, giving it the unique form that comes from our particular encounter with it. And as we make beauty from our origins, we find networks of people just like us, adding their voice to a thing we're all trying to make real.
As extensions of nature, we need our differences to thrive. Some people will be the fire of inspiration you need to inch you closer to your edges, and others will look to you for that push. Originality needs many emissaries with different voices to get its message across. Like a choir, every voice is necessary to make a grand swell."
This was timely. It’s got me wondering in my life WHEN I felt everything I made needed to be the best. It’s why in college I struggled with finishing assignments because everything needed to be perfect to be turned in and who has the time for all that? I loved the emphasis on creating out of devotion and all the parts of us and valuing highly how the act of creating makes us feel 1st, an audience of one 1st. This convo makes me curious how to emphasize our enoughness in school settings where I think so much of us are taught this narrative. Thank you for this weeks food for thought.
This essay felt like a big hug.
Thank you for writing & for sharing Lisa :)
This post brought tiers to my eyes ♥️ thank you
🙏🏻🤍
this is truly some HUMAN STUFF. stay sharing. ❤️
What a beautiful essay. I've shared it amongst my artist friends, but am now re-reading through the lens of my students, as it's pertinent across so many contexts. This essay--shared by another Substack author (Whitaker or Peterson, I can't remember) brought me to Lisa Olivera's writing and I am so very glad that it did!
First piece I’ve read of yours and it is beautiful, thoughtful, and timeless. Thanks for the gentle reminders!
I'm in the right place. This is my first foray into Human Stuff and after reading this newsletter, without the context of your larger work, I deeply love your voice. Your rich contemplations of the experience you are having and the connections you are feeling is clear and unifying.
I imagine that your ideas stir the hearts of any who have felt doubt and have been bullied to believe that perfection is the goal. I have less fingers and toes than all the times I've kept myself from creating. It's always a creeping sense of doubt that hampers my creative flow, like all of a sudden I'm running with large dumbbells. I'd get some of the way there but never finish. "May we let a desire to do what we do be proof of its belonging." Thank you for writing that.
I stumbled on the Taylor Hawkins video this week as well! It's a deep reminder of the generational spirit that flows through family. He can go on and become a great drummer or a great plumber. That wonderful tribute will remain a reflection of love and honor.
What’s up baby?
This. Is. Everything. I have so much to say at yet nothing to say at all. I’m speechless. Thank you for sharing this validating human experience. I want to embrace creativity and create something out of nothing. I will remember that only I can create what I create because I am the only one that is me. So fantastic. Thank you thank you thank you.
- Krissy =)
Hi dear
I wrote something really similar a little while ago about not having to be the best at everything we do. I think a lot of 90s kids felt this pressure that something was only worth doing if you were going to be the best at whatever it was. And I am trying to unlearn that now as an adult because that shit is exhausting!!
https://nextrightthing.substack.com/p/doing-our-best
Thanks for making me smile and lifting my spirits, Lisa, with your beautiful and honest insights. ❤️ I've been struggling with perfectionism, so 'Not every season is for thriving' and 'Not the best' speak right to my heart. Thanks for giving voice to our soul's deepest sentiments by being uniquely you, with your gentle candour and poetic prescience. ❤️
Thank you for your words, they get to the heart of the matter as usual. Please keep writing as you do, heartfelt and real. Your writing is the highlight of my week.