Part of my creative practice as an artist and a devotee to Life is to let go of the ideas I hold within me that separate me from the whole, so I can drop into an effortless beingness shared with the Earth from which our bodies stem.
It is here that I untether myself from one of the most important myths humanity must unravel to move through and beyond the polycrises: the belief that we are separate from—and higher than—Life. This illusion, embodied through practices like agricultural systems that poison the earth and the denial of consciousness in animals, plants, and elements, binds us to the consciousness of domination.
This consciousness—its beliefs, values, narratives, identities, and ways of relating—is the root force behind the systems of oppression and extraction that have led us to the brink of relational collapse. It trains us to forget our interdependence and imprisons our creative capacity to imagine and build life-honouring systems. Yet this very imagination—the creative impulse of Life—is the lifeblood of (r)evolution. Here, our reclamation of creativity becomes a regenerative rebellion.
Life is inherently creative. When we reclaim our innate creative impulse, we begin to dissolve the myth of separation from Life that domination relies upon. Here, I’m not creating for Life, but as Life expressing itself through my particular form. We are one with the same intelligence that guides the great migrations of snowy owls and monarch butterflies. What links lunar cycles to the ocean’s tides is present in us all—whether we recognize it or not.
Attuning to this intelligence calls for an embodied presence rooted in the subtle, mysterious, sensuous and intuitive knowing of our ancestors. Though the systems we live in denounce this form of intelligence, this ancient inheritance and instinct cannot be taken from us. But it can be forgotten. Remembrance, then, becomes a creative and rebellious act and responsibility.
Creativity, Emergence & Regeneration
Life is an emergent, evolving network held together by relationships rooted in reciprocity and adaptation: it is here that Life supports change towards regenerative possibilities for the whole. This is seen in the cycles of birth, death, and regeneration that allow future generations to thrive. Whether through plants and animals shifting their livelihoods alongside the seasons or the flowing intelligence of Water, Life adapts to evolve. This is the task humanity must consciously embrace to move beyond the crises we have created.
How might we adapt creatively to the ecological, social, political, and relational shifts that must occur for regeneration to become possible from this moment in our history? We can begin by reconnecting to the Creative force within and around us—the one that yearns to offer new and life-sustaining pathways, visions, and ways of relating to Life in all its forms. This force has never been separate from us. It lives in our longing.
Pathways to Remembrance
Follow the Regenerative Yearnings
This moment—destructive, chaotic, and uncertain as it is—is fertile with potential. Desire is a key part of Life’s creative impulse. As we unlearn the desires seeded by domination—those rooted in individual gain or proving worth—we can discern and choose desires that honour Life’s continuance: desires that nurture, empower, and sustain. This discernment is a creative act.
Reclaim the Birthright of Expression
Explore and encourage creative expression, free from the need for approval, recognition, or outcome. Sing because it feels good. Dance because you feel like it. Write. Paint. Make offerings to the Earth because it reminds you are Life being lived. In doing so, we access what Life wishes to express and create through our uniqueness. And in embodying this freedom, we expand our capacity to support others in doing the same.
Collaborate
Nothing in the universe—from cells to galaxies—exists in isolation. Our relationships expand the field that we exist within and co-create. When we engage with diverse perspectives and lived experiences, we birth something greater than, but not separate from, the individual. Life’s creativity is sustained by strengthening the relationships among all of its parts. And there is no greater act of co-creation than Life itself. What if our creations became collaborations with the Earth, with each other, with Spirit?
Life Persists
Life’s regeneration is a promise. No matter what, Life persists. The systems and consciousness that bind us may be deeply rooted, but no ideology, belief, or cultural lie is strong enough to suppress Life’s enduring creativity, nor its beauty.
The question is: are we humans ready to continue our journey as Life? For we do not simply share the same essence – we are the same essence.
How might you accept Life’s invitation to remember and reclaim (y)our creative capacity?
Sydney Searchwell-Simpson
Sydney Searchwell-Simpson is a spiritual activist, writer, speaker, artist, and performative storyteller whose work bridges spirituality and cultural transformation. At the heart of her offerings is an invitation to remember and reconnect with who we are beyond what she calls domination consciousness. Her life—and the creations that flow from it—serve as a living invitation to restore honourable relationship within ourselves, with other humans and beyond-humans, with the Earth, and with the Sacred Mystery in which we are all embedded. She shares timely wisdom and her emergent process of becoming another way beyond domination on her podcast and newsletter, Sacred Pathways: Stories & Wisdom from Walking the Heart’s Way. You can connect with her work here.
Photo by Melanie Morales on Unsplash
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