The Highs and Lows of (creating) Change

To Our Beloved Creators Space Community ~

As promised, we are continuing to share our creative journey with you as Creators Space evolves. As with any creative endeavor, the highs are very high and the lows are very low.

It is really important to us that we live this journey out loud. So often, we see the shimmery highlights in blogs and social media but do not actually witness process of creating that is real, raw, and vulnerable. We have run the gamut of emotions and will share some of the more extreme emotions - the highs and the lows - and will share with you where we are at on the path toward creating something new.

The Lows

Last week, it became clear that the doors to the public needed to be closed on December 9 and the entire Creators Space team needed to be let go. Read more about our evolution here.

Living through that day was the lowest point in our professional lives. The impact on so many incredibly talented, kind, and compassionate souls weighed so heavily on our hearts. We truly had become a family over the course of building out this vision, and saying goodbye to the daily smiles and hugs tore us apart.

We have been in this together from the ground up - quite literally throughout the renovation - and are experiencing tremendous loss. Even though in our hearts we know that this is part of the process, that pain and sadness is there nonetheless. To deny this feeling would be to deny all of the hard work, sacrifice, and dedication that it took to build it.

Creators Space has been built, and now it is our strong commitment to its evolution is what gets us through the lows.

The Highs

While we should not be surprised, we have been a little bit taken aback by the response to our temporary closure. We have found so much unexpected beauty is support.

As we shared the heartbreaking news with our closest members of the CS team, one-by-one they told us that they would be okay and that they would still help in whatever way they could because of their strong belief that this is not over.

Sunday morning, a group of us gathered at Creators Space. Coffee and scones were made (thank you, Salena and Leandra!), and through the sadness there was a sense of community in sharing in the loss and sadness together. It’s amazing what a cup of coffee, a laugh or two, and treats made with love can do to mend and bond.

Throughout the day, members of the community stopped in and wished us well. They asked questions about how they could help. Emails and texts poured in. We heard things like, “I will volunteer to teach!” .. “I will run the coffee house for free!” .. “I will donate my time to help!” “I will host a fundraising event!”. The list goes on and on ..

Tears of sadness slowly turned into tears of gratitude. The outpouring of support has truly taken our breath away.

The Path

When we entered into a commitment with this idea, we knew that it would not be a perfectly linear path. We knew that it was going to be rocky and filled with these types of highs and lows and twists and turns. Of course, the lows really challenge the notion of why we did this in the first place! There have been very many times when we’ve wondered if it has all been worth it - and of course, the answer is always yes.

We know that this work is the right work and we surrender to the path and the timing. We will continue our outreach and will reveal the vision for even greater impact that Creators Space can have within the community over time. This is much larger than us as individuals, and we are much more clear about what we are really here to do - to build a Creators Movement that ignites action. Stay tuned .. !

Come with us as we continue to do our part to manifest this vision! You all play a critical role in this collective effort to find inspiration and ways to make the world a better place.

Thank you for the tremendously inspiring support. We read each and every message, and it truly FUELS us! Please do not hesitate to reach out with words of wisdom, connections with your networks, or a simple note of encouragement.

In Gratitude,

The Creators Space Family