This Year Isn’t Done With Us Yet: What 2020 is Doing to Creativity

It’s been six months since the Christmas party my friends throw every year—the one where I sat on their couch and casually mentioned that 2020 was going to be wild and interesting (said in the most sarcastic tone you can imagine).

Wild and interesting.

I first started to get a twinge that something turbulent was coming back in September. I’ve learned that I can’t always explain those feelings that feel like unwarranted pressure in my chest, but they always make sense in hindsight. And this was one of those times. I actually turned down a very profitable project because of it—and I’m glad I did.

In the fall, I thought I was clever to be one of the first people in my social circles to equate the new year with 20/20 vision—an idea that has now been worn out completely. And one that has us questioning if we asked for too much of a good thing. ha!

But there’s actually something to that right?

We’re only half-way through the year, and 2020 has already ripped us in half and spread us wide open.

For some people, they’re seeing things for the first time. Things that they were obliviously blind to before. #blacklivesmatter

For others, it’s about seeing things from a new perspective—from the inside out, rather than the outside in. #socialdistancing

And for some, it’s about seeing with a whole different kind of sight—a vision that only comes after one has experienced deep suffering and loss. #unemployment #coviddeath #icantbreathe #mama

This year is certainly wild and interesting. And hard. And rough. And we still have 6 months to go.

I promise you 2020 isn’t done with us yet.

But, on the flip side of the pain, you know what else I’m seeing?

I’m seeing people leave the corporate world and set out to build their own business while their 4-year-old runs circles around them. I kid you not—the client I’m working with right now decided she was quitting her corporate job a couple weeks into quarantine and within 1 week she booked three 4-figure coaching clients. She’s an Enneagram 1. Werk it.

I’m seeing expats rethinking how their visa is tied to their work and choosing to create digital programs doing what they already know how to do, but online and from anywhere in the world. I strategized with a teacher in Korea last week—and she’s preparing for big changes after COVID affected her job. She’s an Enneagram 5. I’m so glad I get to cheer her on in this journey!

I’m watching as a mental health professional takes a risk and opens up a zero-waste refill station in Norfolk, VA. Customers come in and out donning masks and staying 6 feet apart while they pick up laundry soap, refillable candles, and compostable dishcloths.

I’m watching as my own tween is having the time of his life at home, thinking up new things to do like selling all of his old books on Amazon and turning clutter into cash. He identifies as an Enneagram 8.

I’m witnessing therapists and coaches in Egypt gathering weekly to feel all their emotions, confront all of their thoughts, and give intention to all their behaviors as the world feels the aches and pains of this massive collective shift. The group spans the entire psyche map, from Enneagram 8 to 7 (ha, you think that’s a typo, but it’s not).

And we haven’t even gotten to the global news like environmental gains, systemic reform, and economic restructuring.

This year is wild and interesting, y’all. And I’m here for it. Okay, maybe I don’t want to be here for like 90% of it, but we’re doing this whether we want to or not. Anger, grief, fear, and joy. All of it.

It’s said that when crisis hits, artists get to work. And I believe we’re all artists—so how are you getting to work?