I feel the need to write creatively. Is there value in pursuing it even if I don’t get paid?

Absolutely. True value is not measured by money, it is measured by the happiness (or pure life energy) you experience. And who knows, someday you can even get paid for it. The world needs happiness, and many people like people who bring happiness to the world. (Many hours passes and I come back to continue writing this answer)

Consider this hypothetical scenario (which I improvised into a guided meditation just a bit later): You have literally all the money in the world at your disposal. But you aren’t feeling alive inside. You are dying, and you don’t understand why. Life is simply withdrawing from your body, and it seems to be an involuntary process to you, and you feel powerless for these moments. Your money can’t help you out of this situation, you have already tried everything you can with it.

And now.. imagine.. even though young in body.. you are in this dying state, and then you feel an energy, a spark in your heart. It tells you in silence to let go of your burdens. Suddenly, you become one with this energy, coming more into your body, remembering the aliveness in your earlier times. Now life is flowing more in your body.. you are letting go of the idea of money, idea of its power over your happiness. You mentally relinquish all personal ownership rights to the entire money of the world. You begin to see it as the dead leaves of trees. You feel life within you, what are dead leaves? Life! This moment.. Your mind is in clarity.. People chasing after dead leaves.. You look at them.. and see their suffering. They have lost touch with life, and now .. think that they can buy life with money.. They buy objects.. and when the newness of objects is gone.. they are bored/feel burdened.. and when the objects are ingested.. they come out as dead.. the life they give is temporary.. can’t be held.. this is a huge addiction which can’t fill the void inside.. and where is the source of life, how to fill this void.. they are unaware..

You feel the life within yourself.. it comes from your heart center.. you surrender.. and it fills you.. you are no longer dying.. you have relinquished the idea of money’s power over life now.. you let go of the idea of having the money of the world.. and it is taken from your person.. but you don’t care.. you feel alive..

Then.. you go deeper into this feeling of aliveness..life fills your body.. you expand your awareness.. and see that everything is this life.. you see that the life in your body is the life everywhere.. you see that you are life.. Now.. all the money in the world is yours again.. but not as a person.. as life.. you know it is one with you.. it is already yours.. why carry it in your person.. nobody can take it away from you.. because there is nobody else.. there is only life.. you carry only what you need.. you keep in the bank only what you need.. what you see as necessary.. the rest.. you keep distributed over the entire world.. as you see as necessary.. to serve the highest good of all..

You just write .. the truth that you see. you write feeling from your heart.. you write.. surrendering to truth.. and the money that is always yours, will come to your person as the person truly needs it. You feel free to write.. or not write.. as your heart desires.. as life.. you feel free to create.. You take a deep breath.. you relax into your being.. you breath again.. consciously.. relaxing more into your being.. you experience life as it arises.. as it is.. and flow freely in this moment.. you become the creator. for eternity. in this moment.