From accountant to poet: why everywoman is creative
On discovering the healing power of self expression through curiosity
Today marks the first full day of spring in the northern hemisphere and I have been thinking about spring healing, spring feeling, and creativity cycles.
For women, creative expression is the heart of well-being and leadership. Whether it is through public speaking, sharing on social media, writing, dancing, or simply living an authentic life, the ability to harness creative instincts is what transforms a “good girl” into a great woman.
The creative process is the heroine’s journey.
Now when we ask ourselves on a day to day basis, are we creative? The answer is very often, no, because we tend to think of creativity as painting a masterpiece or writing a literary work. However, creativity has a much wider range of forms and is an active part of every woman's cycle and life.
On the most fundamental physical level, women are creators. Our bodies are the portal to life on this planet.
Women we create. We create through our words, our stories, our songs. We create the future with our voice and our womb-space. The voice and the womb, sacred twins, carrying the vibrational wisdom to birth our most expressed, alive self.
A fulfilled woman is an expressed woman
As a women’s leadership coach and creative, I’ve contemplated the question, What makes a fulfilled woman? Quite simply, she creates and she shares.
She creates and shares, creates and shares, and then she creates and shares some more.
That’s right. It’s a two step process that never ends. There is no destination, no arrival. It’s the cycle that is sustaining.
Creating and sharing doesn’t mean she needs to be an award-winning artist, or C-level executive, although, it is a path to become one for those who desire. Creating and sharing can be anything that brings pleasure, satisfaction, and authenticity to our lives.
Curiosity cures the cat
At the core of all I do is the belief that taking care of ourselves is both a catalyst of and conduit for creative practice. The two should never have been mutually exclusive.
Creativity does not have to be "high art."
Do something that delights you for no apparent reason. Give in to your curiosity. Linger for a while. Peek into a strange doorway. Buy the scarf in the color you never wear. Drape it over your bedside lampshade. Write your grocery list in cursive. Pick some flowers in your neighborhood, wear one in your hair. Put extra into the ordinary, and bam! You’re creative.
Curiosity in creative practice is a gateway drug to humor and optimism.
Sometimes we get further in our art and our lives when we let ourselves do what comes easily and naturally. Creativity and ease as connecting concepts can spark confusion and shame for those of us that were un-mothered. But the creative spark is a light never goes out, no matter how long ignored.
Deep in the center of the psyche is la chispa - the ember that is the elemental source of all creative work - ready for the tinder of your curiosity.
Painting your bathroom is creative. Braiding your kid’s hair is creative. Clearing out your closet is creative. Wearing unmatched socks is creative. Organizing your bookshelf is creative. Dancing in your kitchen is creative.
The simple pleasures of creative expression is not going to end the war in Ukraine, but it will end the war inside our heads that tells us we are not "enough."
It is self-expression, not self-scrutiny, that brings healing and happiness. Understanding the nature of your inner critic through mindfulness and compassion is what sets your voice free.
How I went from being a CPA to writing poetry and talking about periods publicly
It took me years to remember how to embody my creativity. When I was a 22-year-old accountant, on a good day, I'd hide in my car on my lunch break and write poetry about the feminine mystique. Mostly, I felt stifled, unsatisfied with myself, comparing myself to others I deemed more creative than me.
This was a painful time in my life. Comparison is the thief of joy.
Once I embraced my own curiosity, I could let go of needless suffering. I allowed myself to get “pregnant” with ideas. I love the metaphor of creativity and pregnancy because it all happens inside the body, in the fertile darkness of the womb.
You don't need the final product to believe in yourself to make it. You're creating because that is the most natural way to be.
Becoming aware of the negative thought patterns that preyed upon my creative instinct and replacing them with positive beliefs brought peace, joy, and love into my life. Try this metta meditation to explore cultivating loving-kindness.
The right to express creative choice is the notion of intersectional well-being
When I started healing, I started creating. When I slowed down from the hustle of life and listened to my body, I was captured by the mystery of feminine cycles and menstrual magic. I followed this thread of curious inquiry. I started creating art calendars around my menstrual cycle and would talk about it to anyone who would listen. I wrote a menstrual tracking guide, built an e-course, and started coaching women 1:1. I’ve now shared about the menstrual cycle to tens of thousands of women, including being a featured speaker for leading tech companies such as Meta, Pinterest, Snap, and Shopify. As an accountant, I used to audit companies like this. Now I’m being paid to talk about periods?! It started with following creative curiosity.
Recovering my artist required fierce self-compassion.
All women can use fierce and tender self-compassion to unearth their creative instincts, succeed in the workplace, engage in caregiving without burning out, and be authentic in relationships.
Most women intuitively recognize fierceness as part of their true nature, but have been discouraged from developing it. Women must reclaim their creative power in order to create a healthier society and find lasting happiness.
“When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves so completely from the world's expectations that they are full of nothing but themselves. What we need are women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done. She lets the rest burn.”
― Glennon Doyle, “Untamed”
Eight questions for creative contemplation
What ideas/themes/creators excite you?
Where do you find inspiration?
When do you feel the most creative? Time of day, time of month, time of year…
How do you like to capture and record your ideas?
Do you prefer working from your imagination or from observation?
Do you have a point in the creative process where you always get stuck? What helps you to get started again?
Do you have any habits or rituals you like to do before you start creating?
Is there something about your life that you are keeping secret but want to have the courage to talk about among friends, on social media, with your family?
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Thanks for reading and listening. Share your experience in the comments!
You can support my work by sharing this post with the wonderful women in your life.
With so much love,
Christina
Calm your mind, deepen your breath, and open your heart in this live virtual 30 minute guided meditation class.
I offer a bespoke high-touch 1:1 coaching containers for ambitious, heart-led women to translate their innate feminine power into actionable results.
Women I have worked with have aligned with their purpose, up-leveled their businesses, gotten promotions and raises, reclaimed their inner artist, deepened their spirituality, healed from burnout, attracted an ideal partner, prepared for motherhood, cultivated fierce self-love and so much more.
My clients include founders, business professionals, and creatives, who believe in a world where all women are empowered and honored.
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What clients are saying:
Working with Christina was a gentle yet empowering experience. I always looked forward to speaking with her because she was able to either nurture or nudge me depending on what I was going through that week. At times it felt like therapy and at other times executive coaching. Her experience working with the female body as well as her deep understanding of masculine and feminine energy helped me shift out of fear, anxiety, dread, and fatigue. I always felt relieved after our sessions. At other times she pushed me to look at what I was avoiding and take risks, committing to things so that I took action on my dreams. Since working with her I have written a TV pilot that I had been envisioning for three years and created a new website that encapsulates who I truly am. Most importantly, I feel like I have the tools to self-soothe and listen to my body when I encounter resistance in my life. I feel equipped to move forward in my power, trusting what is to come. I am at peace after working with Christina, which is my most treasured takeaway.
-Katrina Sorrentino, Filmmaker & Facilitator