Your creativity isn’t just a way to express yourself — it’s a powerful tool for changing your relationship with self, others, and your community. Sometimes justice can feel elusive, especially for young people of color. Your creative energy can be a catalyst for staying the course and mindfully taking care of yourself.
This is not just about creating art, music, or writing. Your creativity is about using these forms of expression to inspire yourself and others to create change without sacrificing your needs.
In my own journey, I have enjoyed the process of writing during my most emotionally intense moments, and using it as a way to release what my body and mind could no longer hold. I’ve seen first-hand how creative outlets can help people to both release what no longer serves them and nurture what sustains them. Creating can be the most beautiful thing we can do in our darkest moments.
Linking your creativity to mindful justice
By channeling your creative talents, you can engage your mind, body, and spirit in meaningful ways to support mental health and emotional well-being for yourself and for your community.
Here are three ways creativity can support your efforts to restore or maintain balance as you challenge injustice in daily life.
- Creativity can help you connect to your inner wisdom. The time you take to create is a rich opportunity for listening to what your body, mind, and spirit may need you to hear. You may notice increased understanding of your experiences or ability to problem-solve after spending time focused on creative outlets.
- Engaging in creative activities increases agency. Creativity can create space to explore and affirm your unique self, motivations, and strengths. While goals in life and pathways to achieve them are important, your creativity can help you reach your fullest potential and motivate you to take action.
- When you create, you tap into your resilience. Engaging with the arts and creative expression regularly can help you develop coping strategies that allow you to better handle stressors in your life. The act of creation is a form of active coping and resistance to the forces in society that encourage sacrifice over well-being. By embracing and pursuing your creative potential, you’re contributing to a larger movement of young people of color that seeks to not just survive, but to thrive.
Your creativity is the spark that ignites mindful justice in support of balance in daily life.
Just as one match can light a thousand candles, your creative actions can inspire you and countless others to continue the fight for justice while centering well-being. Each piece of art, every word written, and every song sung is a step toward a world where balance, well-being, and justice go hand in hand.
The Takeaway
Your creativity is more than self-expression. It’s a force for mental health and well-being. By embracing your creative power, you’re not just imagining a better world — you’re helping create it. Don’t hesitate to use your voice, art, and ideas to inspire others and drive positive change. The world needs your creativity to build a just and empowered future. So go ahead, unleash it, and watch how your creativity becomes the foundation for improving your physical and mental health.
