I've often heard creative people talk about "the well" as being the source of their creativity. The well overflowing, the well running dry, refilling the well, etc. I went along with this because I had never met another professional writer until after I got into the industry. I thought they knew more than me, and creativity does strike me as flowing like water. Yet all this time the well analogy has never really suited my own creativity.
I'm not someone who hides their creativity; I've made it part of my daily life. I write every day, and when I'm not writing, I'm usually thinking about writing. That happens even when I'm quilting, crocheting, doing housework or even riding in the car. It's the only part of my life that never bores, hurts or disappoints me.
I've always had a fascination with fountains, and only recently have I realized why: for me creativity is more like them. What I do is a flow that comes from inside me, streams up, bubbles over and splashes everywhere all over my life. I don't get writer's block (sometimes I wish I did) so my writing fountain never runs dry. It's beautiful to behold no matter what I'm doing to express it. It's a never-ending part of me that I choose to share with the rest of the world.
I have other fountains for my crochet, my quilting and my journaling, which are smaller but just as delightful. While I share a bit of those through photos or writing about them on social media, the little fountains are more private, and a source of expression that I don't have to share if I want to keep them just for me. I've also destroyed a lot of work that I've never shown anyone, particularly with journaling, because I didn't want anyone else to have access to it. It was for me and me alone. That's why I think overflowing creatives like me need privacy for at least a portion of their work.
In regard to the writing, the fountain is enormous, but I don't apologize for or try to hide it anymore. I admire anyone who lives a creative life, but I don't compare myself to them. It's not a competition. My fountains of creativity are my life, and I'm finally living it the way I've always wanted to.
Image credit: First fountain image in this post by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay
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