I woke up to the news on Monday that the world is now without David Bowie. My sister messaged, “I didn’t know he could die.”

While I’ve never been a David Bowie superfan, I can sing along to the classics and revel in the delightful weirdness of Labyrinth. Rock and roll as theater, the clothes, and the hair; all of it. He owned it. David Bowie was something else. And seemed to be the sort who told himself yes to whatever he fancied, aspired to or wished to try (or try on).

I look at his fantastic act and can’t help but laugh. How did David Bowie become David Bowie? The fantastical, creative, and wild creature that he was. I wonder how am I doing at becoming myself? Perhaps not as fantastical or wild for good reason. But, do I tell myself yes? Yes to discovering, creating and being fullest self?

With the year’s roll around I’ve been reading more about what it that word means when we make it personal. I’ve thinking about my own yes. Yes: when I listen to my inner self, when I recognize what I what I need, what I want, and what I prefer.

Not the checkboxes of what’s expected of me or what I feel I should, but what my deepest and best self wants. Desires buried inside of myself, curiosities, whims and pleasures to explore and realize.  Elizabeth Gilbert writes to this quest in her brilliant new book, Big Magic:

Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? 

Look, I don’t know what’s hidden within you. I have no way of knowing such a thing. You yourself may barely know, although I suspect you’ve caught glimpses. I don’t know you capacities, your aspirations, your longings, your secret talents. But surely something wonderful is sheltered inside you. I say this with all confidence, because I happen to believe we are all walking repositories if buried treasure. I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us human beings, both for its own amusements and for ours: The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.

The attempt to unearth them, that’s what creative living is, a yes. I’m realizing that saying yes to myself, is the way to be myself. To allow for, attempt, and celebrate my own creativity. Yes to a dying my hair if I feel like it. Yes to my solo morning hours for running and writing before I have to be something to a lot of someone elses. Yes to owning my own quirks and tendencies who knows what those things, that form of being can inspire.

Surprisingly, I finding that saying yes to myself means I have more of myself to give to others. It’s marvelous to think that you dig in to branch out, creatively and generously.

Yes. 

How nice of the universe, how nice of God to be so kind. How nice to remember we have such vast possibilities within ourselves.

How nice of some Space Oddity to remind me of of that today.

How are you saying yes to yourself? And have you read and loved Big Magic too? Or maybe just your favorite David Bowie bit?