For all the years you have been working you have had to put off the things you want to do. There was always some other priority, some reason that your dream would have to wait.
You always wanted to write, or paint, or sculpt. It was something that you would do "someday."
So let me be very, very clear: Someday is now!
This isn't even a questions, is it? You know what the answer is, so don't be afraid of it!
Believe me, I understand how important those other things were. How many responsibilities and constraints were placed on you. How many times you had to put aside your creative endeavors to handle practical, mundane matters. How many times the demands of the "real world" overwhelmed your creative dreams.
You always told yourself that you really wanted to create. Maybe you spent time mooning over amazing knitted creations, or longed to become a star in the kitchen. If you only had the time.
Don't get me wrong. I know you stole a few moments when you could. Some of you got up an hour before the kids every day so you had time to write - though kids seem to catch on to that trick pretty quick and alter their rising time accordingly. Or you left your spouse to watch their favorite TV show while you went to your studio to draw or paint before you fell into bed. You stayed up after everyone was asleep to have time to sew one more costume, or finish decorating a cake.
Every day, in whatever way you could manage, you made time for your creative life. Even if only for a few minutes.
I've never been much of a morning person, but for many of my writer friends with jobs and families finding time to create means rising with the sun, before the demands of daily life take over.
There were certainly times you couldn't even manage that. A sick child or spouse, a household emergency (you can't really create when the toilet is overflowing), a crisis at work that kept you there after hours.
After you retire, when the kids are grown and gone and the boss can no longer "request" that you work late, you finally have all the time you want for your creative pursuits. Within reason, of course; you still need to eat and sleep and occasionally take a shower.
So why aren't you?
That is, as they say, the sixty-four thousand dollar question. (And if you don't get that reference, are you really old enough to be retired?)
The answer takes many forms, and has broad implications.
Are you still putting other things first? Things that may not truly deserve to be a higher priority?
Are you setting goals that are so lofty they scare you away?
Are other people still demanding your time? And are you allowing them to do so?
Do you keep telling yourself that you have to do X, Y, or Z before you're ready to dive into your project?
Have you decided that you have to have the proper environment - a real office, or studio, or woodshop - before you can really create, so making that space has to come first?
In short, are you procrastinating?
It's a scary question, but a necessary one, if you value your creative life.
I know. I know. Those are important chores you've been putting off, knowing you'd have more time for them after you retire. You've been promising yourself you would simplify your wardrobe when you didn't have to dress for work every day. But is that really more important than your art? Is detailing the car such a high priority that you don't have time to make music? Does catching up the ironing (Really? You still iron anything?) matter more than building a decorative cabinet for your teacup collection?
Somehow I don't think the answer to those questions would have been "Yes" while you were working. You set priorities and you let things go to the bottom of the list. Personally, I think ironing fell off my list long ago, and while I will wash my car occasionally I leave the heavy lifting to the pros.
But we allow all those things to crowd our creative pursuits to the bottom of the list. We tell ourselves it's because we put off all those things and now is the time for us to catch up before we allow ourselves to pursue the things we want.
We call those things "needs" and call our arts "wants."
Honestly, needs and wants will change over time, but they will always work toward the same goal: a happy and fulfilling life. Creativity shouldn't be dismissed as "just a want," but embraced as a need for our own peace of mind.
Yes, there are some things we need to do. (See above. Eat. Sleep. Personal hygiene.) But it's a short list, and our art should be high on that list. We need our art, have always needed it, and now we should give ourselves the freedom to have it.
They why aren't we doing it?
Simply put, fear.
We are afraid to do the thing we love.
I can't tell you what exactly you are afraid of. Maybe it's failure, or success. Of you may be afraid of letting your family and friends down. Of being judged if your house, or car, or wardrobe isn't up to some arbitrary standard of cleanliness.
Maybe you are afraid that you will find out that this isn't exactly what you wanted after all. That your dreams were just that, dreams, and you don't enjoy the reality.
Whatever your fear is, this is the time to face it. Examine what is really holding you back, keeping you from that creative outlet you dreamed of.
Stop waiting for the right circumstances. Stop making excuses. Dive into a project, any project, and see how it really feels to have all the time you want for whatever is your creative passion.
You never know what you might discover until you go exploring.
Because the joy of creating, of riding the wave of your very own creative energy, of letting go and submerging yourself in your art - that joy will triumph over the fear if you let it.