Week 19 - I am finding it hard to live my creative life alongside the reality of having to earn money. How do I find a balance?

Knight of Swords/ Three of Pentacles/ Ace of Pentacles

Collaboration is key.

According to the Oxford English dictionary the word collaboration means, “the act of working with another person or group of people to create or produce something.” This definition is quite open ended and you, the querent, are encouraged to apply it to your own circumstance. We all collaborate on many counts every day. But seldom do we see our actions as collaborations. However, collaboration is a key factor in co-existence. Even in highly individualistic societies, collaboration is palpable. There is something magical in sharing the load as well the rewards.

To cut a long story short, you don’t have to balance your creative life and your need for money alone. I am being shown the image of a person, a court jester to be precise, trying to balance a table and a pile of unrelated but interesting objects on its head. The tables legs hang limp and useless as he tries to balance it all, standing in the center of the table, his curved head clearly not designed to do such a task. The table and the pile of objects on it are threatening to come down crashing and the jester himself is running the risk of hurting himself. Some important phrases to notice here are, “pile of unrelated interesting objects”, “court jester”, “standing in the center”, “not designed to do such a task”, “threatening to come crashing” and “the risk of hurting himself.”

Image generated using AI

Let’s dive deeper into each of these phrases. The “pile of unrelated objects” refers to your basket of creative skills, ideas and offerings. They seem unrelated but have the potential to open several doors for you. Yes, you are their point of creation but each offering of creativity leads to a path which many others would want to walk on, alongside you. I’d like you to imagine setting the table down and then getting a table for each of your objects. Place one object on every table. And invite people into your life. Let them see each object and choose the table they want to sit at.

The “court jester” represents a person who is here to be seen by the world. Your creativity needs an audience. The court jester is lighthearted and does not take itself seriously. It knows that a reaction, any reaction is a response that solidifies its presence in the mind of its onlooker. You are advised to stay light-hearted about your creativity. Be creative for the sake of it. Approach each table with the same zest and passion. Unleash your creativity. Do your thing.

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

But then what do you do about money? Can you use your creativity to earn money? The answer is yes and no. Instead of putting a value on your creativity, let it be visible. Instead of putting a price on it, let it put a price on itself. “Standing in the center” refers to the act of becoming accessible to the world. Let more and more people find you, see you, experience you. Through their interactions with your creativity and your unique and individual offerings you will understand the value at which your work stands in the world.

“Not designed to do such a task”, refers to the alone-ness of the creative mind. A creative mind and its creation have an exchange between themselves. The creator gives birth to an idea and the idea fulfills the creator’s need to create. But in order to address the reality of earning money, the creative mind must become a part of a collective. This is the way an exchange with the world is created.

Photo by Олександр К on Unsplash

“Threatening to come crashing” and “the risk of hurting himself,” refer to the overwhelm one feels when a creative mind hoards their creativity. Imagine a river flowing through you. If it enters, it must go out. If an idea comes, you must find a way to share it with others. Let yourself become vulnerable. Be open to revisions. Be open to transformation. Treat your creativity as a puzzle piece that is looking for its neighboring pieces. Instead of treating your work as a whole, allow it to be “works” and let them become a part of something bigger.

Offer yourself. To others. When you do that, you plant seeds of your creativity. See each manifestation of your creativity as a separate seed. Those seeds shall grow in the soil of others’ gardens. The flowers and fruits that sprout shall come back to you manifold. Your creativity needs a garden bed to earn you money. Find a fertile one and both you and the ones you collaborate with will bloom. This is how balance shall be achieved.

P.S. I am hearing, “multiple streams of income.”