THERE IS ROOM AT THE TABLE

When I go to Narnia, I never bring my wallet.

When I travel to the Shire, I never read the reviews before going.

And when Mary Poppins calls me and invites me to tea, I never check to see how many instagram followers she has.

Who they are is enough to draw me in, these other factors are unnecessary.

When did Mr. Tumnus ever need to tell us how much his salary was to belong on the page?

We have never truly discovered what the Cat in the Hat does when it’s not his day off…

Once you’ve gone to Narnia you don’t care how you got there- was it C.S Lewis’ years of education or afternoons spent wandering in the woods? For anyone that’s been, all that matters is that you were there. 

Too often creatives ask the wrong questions at the wrong time. 

We have an idea and instead of rejoicing at the inspiration, we are intimidated.

How will it make money?

How will it become a full time job?

How can I do this with no experience?

How did J. R. R. Tolkien get to the Shire? Considering how rare it is for men to walk those roads to hobbits. How did Roald Dahl get such an intricate look into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory?

The same way any creative gets to where they are going- staring at a blank page of paper, picking up the pencil, paintbrush, or pen, and beginning.

It’s time we start asking ourselves the right questions like,

Is creativity a competition?

No. It’s not.

The page is just as blank for me as it was for Seuss. Creativity isn’t about being the best, it’s a means of exploration and communication. It’s an avenue that lets us go there even while are feet are rooted here. It’s a plane that we can invite anyone to fly on, to join us, to see what we see, to hear what we say. It’s a process.

A process that surprisingly enough is not reliant on money or popularity, but you.

Are you willing to explore? Are you willing to communicate the deepest rumblings in your soul? The most marvelous things in your imagination- are you willing to share them with us, with the world?

These are the questions worth asking, and if so, how?

How will you explore? How will you choose to communicate? How will you share the marvelous inside of you?

There may come a right time for asking those wrong questions, but your words don’t need monetary value to belong on a piece of paper. If you write a book, publishers will ask how much it will cost, what is your experience? Readers won’t ask those questions. I don’t ask too many questions about Narnia, I just walk through the wardrobe every chance I get.

Create to invite others in, whatever it may be, however you may do it.

It isn’t a competition, it’s a process. A process of learning how to explore and communicate in marvelous ways.

Creativity isn’t a competition, it’s a big round table.

A table where there is room for us all to celebrate those who inspire us, share with those around us, and communicate what is in us.

So, pull up your chair- there is plenty of room.