𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 ..

on making things from the heart

• then .. i thought of the internet as a place to establish myself and share my accomplishments. now .. i see it as a vast ocean, full of little worlds and unexpected discoveries.
• then .. i hoped my creations would find their way to as many people as possible. now .. i imagine them as little messages in bottles, floating freely until someone happens to find them.
• then .. i used to create with the intention of making something useful or meaningful to others. now .. i create because something is meaningful to me, and that is reason enough.
• then .. i felt that being a creator came with certain responsibilities and expectations. now .. i've come to understand that my creativity belongs to me, and i am free to decide what it means in my life.
• then .. my projects were an important part of how i presented myself to the world. now .. they are little fragments of what makes me happy, preserved and shared with anyone who might care to look.
• then .. i was learning how much i could make of my abilities. now .. i'm learning how much beauty i can find in simply being alive.
• then .. i believed my work needed to accomplish something to deserve existing. now .. i've come to believe that the simple joy of making something is a purpose in itself.
• then .. reaching others was an important part of what made my work feel successful. now .. i find meaning in the act of creating itself ; being discovered is simply a lovely possibility.
• then .. i was proud of myself for what i could accomplish. now .. i'm proud of the person i'm becoming, and the life i'm choosing to live.
• then .. i believed that in order to help people through my work, i needed to make myself useful. now .. i believe that healing can come from genuine work done wholeheartedly, and simply being yourself can be incredibly inspiring to others.
• then .. i measured my growth through my abilities, achievements, and the work i produced. now .. i also find growth in becoming more attentive, curious, sincere, and content.
• then .. i wanted to give people something through my work. now .. i no longer believe that everything i make must offer something beyond a little glimpse into my world.
• then .. i found satisfaction in sharing what i was capable of doing. now .. i find just as much happiness in arranging my thoughts, curiosities, and affections into pretty little places.
• then .. i approached creativity as something through which i could continually improve myself. now .. i see it as something that can accompany me as i learn to live more beautifully and intentionally.
• then .. i spent much of my creative energy building and maintaining an identity online. now .. my little projects are simply reflections of a life that exists beyond the screen.
• then .. i wanted my work to represent the very best of my abilities. now .. i want it to represent the things i genuinely love.
• then .. i often wondered what other people would think of what i was making. now .. i begin by asking myself what i would like to make, and welcome whoever happens to enjoy it too.
• then .. i felt responsible for creating regularly, improving constantly, and reaching more people. now .. i allow my interests and curiosity to guide me, without asking them to follow a schedule.
• then .. an unfinished project could feel like an unfulfilled responsibility. now .. i believe even the smallest, unfinished creation can be complete in what it has given me.
• then .. i often thought of little ideas as beginnings of something that ought to become bigger. now .. i let little things remain little, if that is all they wish to be.
• then .. i sometimes felt that time spent creating needed to result in something worthwhile. now .. i believe time spent happily and sincerely is already time well spent.
• then .. i was concerned with how my work would be received and remembered. now .. i am more interested in whether it feels true to the person who made it.
• then .. i was often the maker, hoping that others would discover what i had created. now .. i am just as happy being a wanderer, discovering the little treasures that strangers have left behind.
• then .. i was grateful for what my work allowed me to achieve, and for the people it reached. now .. i carry that gratitude with me, while allowing myself to create for different reasons.