#173: Dearest Fear.

Fear and Creativity feed off each other. They are perfect twins.

I love the twin concept and have written about it before. Nothing comes close to the way Elizabeth Gilbert describes her relationship with fear and creativity in her book Big Magic:

«Dearest Fear: Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, becuase you always do. I acknowledge that you believe you have an important job to do in my life, and that you take your job seriously. Apparently your job is to enduce compelte panic whenever I’m about to do anything interesting — and, may I say, you are superbe at your job. So by all means, keep doing your job, if you feel you must. But I will also be doing my job on this road trip, which ist o work hard and stay focused. And Creativity will be doing its job, which is to remain stimulating and inspiring. There’s plenty of room in this vehicle for all of us, so make yourself at home, but understand this: Creativity and I are the only ones who will be making any decisions along the way. I recognize and respect that you are part of this family, and so I will never exclude you from our activities, but still — your suggestions will never be followed. You’re allowed to have a seat, and you’re allowed to have a voice, but you are not allowed to have a vote. You’re not allowed to touch the road maps; you’re not allowed to suggest detours; you’re not allowed to fiddle with the temperature. Dude, you’re not even allowed the radio. But above all else, my dear old familiar friend, you’re absolutely forbidden to drive.»

The only way to address a problem is to acknowledge it. That would be true if you wanted to defeat fear, eliminate it, leave it behind. However, Gilbert invites Fear to come along. Fear is needed as a passenger. Absolutely.

So what does that mean for me?

The risk of getting caught up in the «busyness of life» is huge. Creativity needs space, but so does Fear. The art lies in consciously creating those spaces and welcoming in whoever stands at the entrance.

«Hello Fear. Hello Creativity. Glad to see both of you. Looks like something is about to happen.»