Reflecting on Creativity During a Pandemic| 25 Days of Creativity 2020

Hello there, Beloved!

It is usually customary for me to begin a blog post with, “it’s been a while.” I realize that it’s not needed to continually do this, no matter how much time has passed. This year evolved into one that no one expected or even imagined.

When 2020 began, we were all bright-eyed with expectation and wonder for all the moments sure to unfold as the months unraveled. We were hopeful that 2020 would hold vision and fulfilled goals not conquered in 2019 and new ones set for this year.

In March 2020, for many of us, life shifted. What we knew to be concrete and sure eerily began to be subdued by fear, quarantining, and an inevitable lockdown. We never thought that by December 2020 what felt so heavy in March would still feel so very real in December.

Yet, here we are, at the end of 2020 not entirely broken and for some, not entirely whole. We’ve all been affected in various ways, experiencing loss from life to jobs, to security and so much more. Humanity has hit a breaking point around the world. Yet, one thing I remember the most from this year is how creativity took a stand and creators, no matter how difficult, didn’t stop doing the thing they loved, creating.

Creativity seemed to blossom under the most straining of times and moments filled with death, racial tensions, civil unrest, and political upheaval of what is just and what is not. 2020 is a year that seemed so dark, yet I find myself drawn to the flickers of light in the middle of such night.

The last nine months came with their own challenges, there is no denying that. However, I have seen so much grace and restoration, and bountiful creativity. Not only have I witnessed such creativity, but I’ve been given the gift of partaking in it and even sharing my own with people I wouldn’t have come across if not for the way the months evolved for me.

When December rolled around this year, I hesitated on if I should promote and invite other creators to my annual 25 Days of Creativity Challenge. I didn’t know if people would be willing to open themselves up to something else with the weight of everything occurring in the world. Encouraged by what I’d seen on social media and in my own personal circles of creativity and community, I committed to sharing this challenge.

The Awesome Results?

In November I started marketing and promoting the 25 Days of Creativity Challenge on my Instagram. This year differed from the others in that I offered a free eBook, 25 Days of Creativity: A Guide to Living Creatively. The expectation I held for this challenge exceeded anything I could have imagined. More than 20 people signed up and expressed their own excitement to be a part of something that would aid them in their own creative journey. People I knew in college and others I’d never met except through the squares on Instagram signed up and committed to creating for 25 consecutive days. What happened on December 1st kind of blew me away.

This challenge yielded poems, dances, artwork, and wildly creative ideas that challenged and inspired me on a level that I will try to express in words. My goal as a creator, no matter what medium it is expressed in, is to create avenues of making creativity accessible to people who are looking to grow as creators and tap into their own creativity. This challenge did exactly that and the gift I received as a result of these creators signing up and committing to this challenge will always be something I carry with me. This will be something I will cherish because there is so much joy in sharing creativity. This year, I found joy in the act of creating and sharing art. Community and relationships are developed when we are able to share parts of ourselves with others. When we can do this through what we create, something beautiful and holy begins.

During this challenge, I have been met with such enthusiasm and vulnerability from all who’ve participated and I am still in awe of what has transpired throughout the last 28 days.

2020 is a year we won’t forget. There are still a few days left and as reflection goes, there is always something to look back upon with intentionality. This year has shown me how creativity truly is a part of how we live our lives and how we connect to the ones we love and those we’d like to know more of.

Creativity blossomed this year. Grace ran wild and hope still shines like a beaming beacon to those of us seeking a way out of the darkness.

I pray the rest of this year finds you well and that love would find you exactly where you are.

God bless you, beloveds!

Sincerely,

a creative woman seeking beauty in it all.

~Antavia Mason