The Call to Create

If you're in the 3 a.m. wake-up club, maybe you'll understand

You know those ideas that come to you as if out of nowhere?

Random whispers in the shower, thoughts that flit through your mind as you’re doing that ‘other thing’ like riding bike, climbing a mountain, doing the dishes, or driving yet again to the same old job—those ideas, wisps across your consciousness?

So often, we brush these aside as if a wayward fly that doesn’t belong, rushing to get back to what ‘really matters.’

But what if what ‘really matters’ are those mantras revealing themselves beneath the surface of our lives, epiphanies of wisdom woven from a life well-lived and time well-served?

The 3 a.m. Wake-Up Club

Sometimes, those whispers grow loud enough that they wake us up in the middle of the night.

For me, it’s 3 a.m. – the witching hour of worried moms, poets, and artists who, waking up from a soon-forgotten dream, finally accept they can no longer ignore the call.

I sometimes wonder if I were more consistently heeding my creative callings, if mundane minutia didn’t so often get in the way, if maybe I would sleep on through the witching hour like a baby comforted by the sureness of life’s rhythms, lulled by the peace of knowing that she’s doing what life has asked of her, being her own true self.

What’s True for YOU?

That phrase—‘true self’—is a complicated one. The idea that we’re somehow not being ‘true’ when we spin plates of responsibility instead of writing down the silent imaginings that want to be told is enough to make anyone want to shed their skin and move to a cave in the middle of the woods to contemplate the matter.

But maybe that’s just me.

Life is complicated, at best.

There’s a reason parts theory has taken off like wildfire. We humans seem to have lots of selves who love to get involved in the hotbed conversation about why we do what we do, and the best thing to do next.

The Complicated Call to Create

Life demands service and us to be its servants. There are dishes to be washed, calls to answer, social media reels and Substack articles to spew out, other souls to lift up, hearts to heal, struggles to be had, and love to be made.

Yet beneath all that are filaments of creativity, wisps of wonder, the veracity of voice.

The call shows up between the bedsheets, shower sprays, and long lists of to-dos—a silent craving to evolve, grow, share some shred of what we’ve learned or are learning, so the next guy doesn’t have to suffer quite so much.

Life calls us to share all that it has taught us as it grabbed hold of us, sloshed us around in its gyrating soup pot, and gave us the best that it could so that maybe, just maybe, we would wake up.

Within all that sloshing is the yearning for authenticity, vulnerability, and to have one’s own inner whispers met by the outer world, by someone else battling with her parts who hears the call too—the call to create.

Maybe that’s what Substack is all about.

A 3 a.m. club of creators showing up for ourselves and each other, as we each seek to answer that call.

How About YOU?

What wakes you up in the middle of the night? What creative callings are beckoning to you, asking that you do something about them?

A Flow Experiment

If you were to capture the fragments and wisps of wisdom flitting through your mind beneath the surface of your life, what might they be trying to say?

Sometimes, just the practice of jotting our ideas down changes things—opening the path for flow. It’s our way of saying to those creative calls—yes, I’m willing to play.

I’ve been experimenting with carrying a notebook to capture the fragments as they pass on by. Keeping paper and pen on my bedside table, in my car, and in random spots throughout my home helps too.

If you experiment with this, let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear.

Jot down whatever comes, letting go of any thoughts about whether the words are ‘good’ or ‘wise’ or what they might mean.

For more Flow Questions and Flow Experiments, check out my book The Flow Habit.

Have We Met?

Hi there!

I’m Laurie Smith, speaker, podcast host, and author of several books about flow and creativity including my latest The Flow Habit: Creating Peace, Purpose, Passion, and Everyday Miracles (Hay House/Penguin Random House), a practical, research-backed guide to the flow state to help you uncover your own unique formula for flow.

While I’ve been writing, coaching, and teaching about creativity, intuition, and the true self for more than two decades, six years ago, I had a personal experience with flow that changed everything. Since then, I’ve been absolutely obsessed with flow, and it’s now the primary focus of my work.

I am continually amazed by how incredibly healing and transformational this natural, innate experience can be, and how dramatically our lives can change when we make flow a habit, a way of life.

You have unique gifts to offer the world, a unique energy that no one else can give—this is at the heart of everything I teach. I love supporting other creatives in connecting with their intuition, following their callings, and using the power of flow to share their unique gifts with the world.

My Free 28-Day Flow Challenge

My free 28-Day Flow Challenge is how my obsession with flow is began. You can read more about my 28-Day Flow Challenges on my website here, and sign up here for the series of 28 daily emails to support you in experimenting with a 5-minute Flow Habit (a joyful activity that you absolutely love to do and that has a high chance of getting you into flow).

Choosing the activity and following where it leads is so fun! If you decide to join and embark on your own adventure with flow, I’d love to hear about it—just hit reply to any of my emails, or email me directly at Laurie@LaurieSmith.com.

Let’s Flow Together!

I love creating safe spaces where we can flow and grow together—coaching groups, workshops, and community around flow, grounded in the motto: when we lift each other up, we all rise.

In addition to intuitive coaching, I offer ongoing Flow Circles on zoom, and in-person in the Bay Area of California. There’s magic when we do this together.

If the idea of flow or following your creative callings resonate, I hope you will follow, subscribe, reach out and connect.

Flow has a way of bringing the ‘just right’ people into our lives at the ‘just right time, making miracles happen.

I’m so glad we’ve found each other. I look forward to getting to know you more.

Happy Flowing!

~Laurie 😊