Spiced Pear-Banana Bread

I was listening to Oprah’s Supersoul Conversations podcast and she was interviewing the author and public speaker, Brene Brown. Brene said something that resonated with me. She said “Unused creativity is not benign–it metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgement, sorrow, shame. We are creative beings. We are by nature creative. It gets lost along the way. It gets shamed out of us.”

I have felt this feeling time and time again. The need to be creative; the need to use my creative outlets if for no other reason than to exercise the them and not to allow tension and anxiety to build up. And I have also felt, time and time again, the pressure to have to explain myself for my creative needs and actions. The feeling that needing to do something creative, just for the sake of it, is silly or wrong. That wanting to move or paint or sing or draw or take photos or write had to be explained, or perfected, and wasn’t allowed to be done just because I needed it – perfect or not.

Expressing creativity, no matter the outlet or medium, is therapeutic, healing and sometimes hard to explain or talk about (even with loved ones). We need to express ourselves creatively, however that may be, because when creativity is suppressed, it can really turn into some confusing emotions. It’s hard to give yourself permission to be creative – even when it doesn’t make sense or seems not to have an end goal. Whenever you, or someone you know, begins to question your creative actions or ideas, remember that using our creativity helps us become more whole versions of ourselves.

Now, for this yummy spiced pear banana bread. This paleo bread is such a delicious treat, especially on cold mornings. I’ve also become fond of giving this bread as gifts, because the fruit decoration on top makes it so beautiful. If you’d like to make it vegan you can substitute the eggs for chia eggs – it will probably just be a bit more moist. Happy baking!

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