Sometimes in my creativity coaching practice, my mind flashes to an image of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  It is a pyramid that states what the basic necessities are for people to become self-actualized, i. e., to become our fully-expressed selves.  Remembering to care for the foundation of one's pyramid, the first three levels, is pivotal to having the space needed for creativity.  I believe that creativity can work inside every stage, but it's hard to
feel excited about cooking a creative meal when you're too tired to
stand up. 

I like to remind myself every day that I need to care for my basic needs so that I can feel free to create from a place of security and not from the place of fear that my needs won't be met.  The base biological and physiological needs are: air (breathing!), water, food, shelter, sleep, sex, and warmth.  The next level is safety: needs like protection, order, limits, money, and stability.  After safety comes the need for belonging and love: affection, partnership, family, community, working with people. 

The needs for esteem, meaning, beauty, self-fulfillment, and helping others toward self-fulfillment (transcendence) build upon all those.  Covering these needs at each level is really an act of self-love.  If you were to design your own personal hierarchy of needs, what would it include?

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    "Self love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting."

    -Shakespeare