Thursday, May 5, 2016

Understanding Your Creativity

Yes, you are a creative person. According to Edwin Raphael McManus in The Artisan Soul "We are the result of a creative act by a creative God. He designed us in his own image; he designed us with both intellect and imagination; he designed us with both reason and passion; he designed us to dream, to risk, and to create."

So, get over the notion that you are unable to do anything other than what others tell you to do. Let go of the notion that only a special few are able to see beyond the daily humdrum of daily life. As long as you follow your conscience and obey the rules all must live by and thereby keep yourself out of man-made jail, you have only to answer to your God for how to live your life. That notion is simply known as freedom. It is the freedom to be yourself. But how do you start? You listen to your thoughts, you sit in on them as judge as to how they are directing or misdirecting your life. This takes time and patience but it will pay off if you listen more to what your inner vision dictates than what your rowdy or non-creative friends insist you do. Then follow some of the urges that tell you to take up singing lesson, join discussion groups, learn how to paint pictures, go bird watching, or simply say no to those who want you to do what you don't want to do.

First of all, be aware that since you give yourself this freedom to be who you truly are, the person you were born to be, and not the one defined by others, you must share your visions so that others too may find themselves and their place in this world. Creativity is not selfish, it is not hoarding but it is helping others to free themselves from the slavery of  'following the crowd.' That said, following the crowd may not be bad, but be sure it is one you creatively want to follow, and is not one urged on you by others.

Why, you may ask? What good is being creative, what is in it for me? The answer is so simple it is often overlooked. It lets you be yourself. Only then can you  begin to put the puzzle pieces of your life together and see the first glimpse of a creative soul. You see, everyone is different. There are no two people alike and that is exactly how God wants it to be. And while that is so, it also may be why the world is in chaos today; the world is full of unhappy and unfulfilled people. Instead of learning how to be themselves and then helping other find their way out of the pitfalls created by hatred and selfishness, they turn on others in anger blaming them for their blindness and wrong ways. To turn that around the world needs to learn to appreciate individual creativity as given to all by God and in turn learning from it instead of denying that it exists.

Just imagine what a wonderful world it would be if the world was simply one big 'think tank' on how to live according to its God-given creativity! It will never happen will be the first thought of many and as the world is now, but as with everything creative, it must have a starting place. How to start? Free yourself from ignorance and false values and get in tough with your inner self, your conscious self, your voice from above, and redirect your life. Then make it known. Give love and assurance to those around you so that they too may learn and pass it on. First begin by loving others as they are even though they have habits and thoughts foreign to you, but love that God part of them. In other words love the part of them that belong to themselves and their God.

You may notice that although I am writing about creative and how everyone needs to find their inner self, I have not directly related it to God or to religion. I don't see the two as separate. I have learned that I am closer to God when I am busy creating (writing, reading, listening to music, going to church, praying, doodling with paint, etc.,) than when I am listening to news broadcasts telling me how the world is destroying its self by hatred and warring factions. The latter is terribly depressing  and gives me much to pray over. No one it seems wants to sit still long enough and take stock of how they see themselves in relation to others, they would much prefer to point fingers of blame outward and never inward. It is true that when we are truthful with ourselves we must take the blame for our past mistakes, but we need not dwell there forever. God will forgive us, if we take the matter to him, and then we can begin to mend our lives. We can then begin our journey toward mental health and toward a hoped for world peace.

It's not easy but it is well  worth the effort. It's not for cowards, lazy people, those who deny the existence of God and those who live by taking from others rather than giving to others: It is for those who use their God given creativity for the purpose for which it was given, a way forward toward a mentally healthy world.

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