Creativity for money or for 'Soul Chits'?

Soul Chits is my definition of currency for creatives.  You can't spend it in the shops.  Amazon will you laugh you off the customer services line if you phone up about it and business moguls (including those representing creatives in various ways) will probably just  give you a knowing look and mutter something under their breath that rhymes with 'tanker'.

Creativity is good for the SOUL!

We all need other forms of currency to survive but should it be the over-riding factor in deciding what you create, how you create it and how accessible you make it to the public?  Do we blindly give the public what they want and turn to the money tree or do we keep our soul invested in what we produce and come to some balance within ourselves?


I've been approached by a few people on this issue and my thoughts and feelings on it are simple:  I create because it helps me to cope with my disability.  When I write poetry I can wash out a wound that's festering away with the pain of a past experience (often sub-consciously). When I journey out with my photography equipment, I'm a socially awkward person at times that is scarred by PTSD, but I can hide behind my cameras for a while, get some exercise, immerse myself in the beautiful healing energy of the Earth and, if I'm lucky, come back  with a good photo or 2.

I have to balance the issue of money vs soul chits very carefully because the latter is worth more to me and if I can't feel good during the process, there's really no point in continuing to do it.  So my perspective is that of a disabled artist that needs to interact with the Earth in a healing way. Expressed as a percentage I'm 70% inclined towards soul chits and 30% towards material benefits.  I'm not naive enough to turn down sales though!

The process of creativity as a therapy is to help me to function in human society in some way, in spite of the stigma that I'm subjected to or the political wranglings that I find myself dragged into from time-to-time.  If I didn't create and invest energy into the process in a clean a way as possible, it wouldn't have sustained me to this point in my life.

Art has energy embedded into it.  The energy of the moment, the message being conveyed and a whisper of the creator her/himself ... all coming together to deliver something that, hopefully, touches you in some way as a human being rather than a walking wallet ... whether you're creating with words, cameras, paint brushes, clay or any other medium.

Start creating, even if you're fit and healthy ... you might discover something else about yourself that's very positive.  If you're disabled, give it a go - it can be very therapeutic - but don't be pressured into anything.  Just go at your own pace ... explore and play!

Villayat Wolf Sunkmanitu




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