Surprisingly, a palpable, unspoken emptiness lingers in the home of two self-aware, successful and creative women. The emptiness can be characterized as a ‘not enough’ or a ‘maybe someday’ quality that makes their life experiences, including their achievements, secondary to their striving. In their attempt to satiate the emptiness through their ongoing activity—and as a reflection of their incredible creativity—these women have filled this house, as well as a second mountain home, with things that are a reflection of past events.

Their overflowing creativity has produced acquisitions that are, now, a hindrance to them, representing more of a burden than a joy. At this point, instead of celebrating their prolific ability to create, they hold their creations against themselves. They suspect that their creativity is the cause of their feelings of emptiness, and, hence, have begun to wrap their creativity in a blanket of shame.

However, an outpouring of creative energy is an expression of life in action; it is hardly shameful. Instead, the emptiness is a by-product of these women’s lack of recognition and appreciation of all of their creative output. They have so embraced the journey that they have yet to integrate the many, varied destinations through which they have traveled to arrive at their present location.

In itself, the ability to appreciate their accomplishments, as well as their acquisitions, will not fill their void. However, it is a first step toward the development of the larger ability to recognize how our experiences, whether we deem them to be good or bad, contribute to the enrichment of our life. Our experiences are the many colors we splash across our canvas; they unleash our vibrancy.

My clients have not stepped back to see a wide-angle view of the colorful lives they have created. While a mere glimpse of the canvas in present time would overwhelm the emptiness, they fear that if they cease their striving, they will realize that their creative gifts have been for naught—that the emptiness is bigger than their experiences, and beyond their abilities. Of course, like many fears, this one has no basis in truth. However, it fuels the striving that prevents their confrontation of the looming sense of emptiness.

Constant striving has deprived these women of the joy of completion. It is the recognition of completion that allows the integration of an experience, and hence, the ability to release it. In other words, when these women are willing to risk facing the void, and letting go of their striving, they will be rewarded for their courage with a vision of the beauty of their creations in present time. And that vision will allow them the clarity that they are seeking to know how to release the overflow and excess that is no longer serving them.

It is from this place of seeing ourselves clearly in present time that we can make choices about our next right step, as well as how our homes can best care for us.

Create, complete, acknowledge, celebrate, rest, and create again…

Written by Heidi Szycher, a staff member at the Boulder Psychic Institute. Check out her personal site at healings.biz.