Creativity is a cruel mistress. She beckons me with promises of inspiration and innovation, only to leave me drained and exhausted. Some days, she's a gentle breeze that whispers ideas in my ear. But most days, she's a raging storm that leaves me feeling spent and unmotivated.

The pressure to constantly produce, to always be 'on', is suffocating. The fear of failure, of not meeting expectations, of being ordinary, is a weight that presses upon my chest. And the comparison game, oh, the comparison game is a killer. Why can't I be more like her? Why can't I think like him?

But the truth is, creativity is not a competition. It's a solitary journey, a winding road that takes me through dark forests and treacherous mountains. Some days, I feel like I'm walking in circles, lost and alone. Other days, I feel like I'm soaring on eagle's wings, free and untethered.

And yet, despite the exhaustion, the frustration, and the fear, I keep coming back to her. For in the midst of the chaos, there's a beauty that beckons me, a beauty that whispers my name and says, ‘Create, my child, create.’ 

So I shall  forever be an ink of stories. 

~X~