I believe we were born to create.
I didn’t always believe that. Just a few years ago, if you’d asked me if I was a creative person, I would laughed heartily while emphatically shaking my head no.
The “no” came quickly and adamantly because while I can spend hours mesmerized in a museum I cannot draw a stick figure, though I love nothing more than singing along in the car I can’t carry a tune, and I haven’t engaged in theater or acting since playing a mouse in elementary school. My great American novel remains unwritten.
To me, creativity meant being an artist of music, theater or medium. The Fine Arts. The stuff of the gifted few.
So no, I’m not creative, I thought. I never painted beautiful murals in my baby’s nursery, sang in the church choir, quilted an heirloom blanket, or even decorated my home with flair. So, no, I was not creative.
But one of the things I love about getting on in years is the ability to call bull on old thought patterns. Dropping my narrow perspective of creativity has led to an exhilarating new, expansive view: We were all BORN to create.
Think of this: We were created by the ultimate creator, in His image, which means we were created to create.
Follow me?
Regardless of your religious or spiritual beliefs, or even completely non-spiritual beliefs if that applies, you have to admit you were, indeed, created.
And I believe a large part of our soul’s journey is to return to it’s purest form.
Thus, that which has been created was created to create.
One of the first ways I acknowledged my newfound view of creativity was to broaden what I considered “creative”. I blew up that old, limited perspective and a sense of limitlessness took it’s place.
Certainly the fine arts are creativity in it’s most recognized form, but we can go so much deeper than that.
Anything that is original to you, comes from you and is stamped with the beautiful, divine individuality of your soul is creative.
Anything that did not exist before you brought it forth into existence is creative.
Anything you imagine, bring into original thought, word or action is creative.
Anything.
Problem solving. Expression of opinions and thoughts. Matching emotions with words to try to capture them. How you play with your puppy.
Anything.
I began to realize the way I taught my students employed creative and on-the spot thinking. Parenting is the monumental act of creativity from conception to lullabies, to discipline and passing on lessons learned. How we decorate our homes, cook our meals, play with children, laugh with friends, even the jewelry we wear and how we apply make-up are expressions of our uniqueness in the world, our statements of personal flair and . The way we solve problems, the way we piece together ideas, the manner in which we connect meaning from multiple sources….yep, all acts of great creativity.
Every time you help your neighbor, you are creating an atmosphere of friendship, community, a sense of compassion and peace.
Each quick quip you make, each pun or joke, creates joy and laugher where none existed before.
Each act of temperance and patience, each angry word held on to rather than spoken, each time we put someone else first, we create space and openness for kindness to take hold.
Creation isn’t only positive though. We also have within us the ability to create discord, animosity, stress and anger. With great power comes great responsibility.
So, if we move forth on the premise that every soul is, indeed, a creative soul, it shines a floodlight on the immensity of creative opportunities.
Just as our fingerprints one of a kind, our creativity is also a source of individuality within the world. Our creative way of engaging with Life, with the world at large, with our faith and fellow journeyers, are a huge part of our Soulprints.
There are things to be done that only you can do. There are ways of loving that only you can show humanity. There are ways of creating our lives to benefit the world. Without the active creation of a purposeful, unique life, you can unknowingly withhold your one-of-a-kind imprint.
I began a morning ritual this past year which includes prayer, journaling, reading, and a mindful meditation practice which ends each day in the question: What world do I want to create today?
This isn’t a question about fantasy or wishes or imaginations. This is a humble reminder, a sacred recognition, that with each thought, each action, each word we speak, each act of love, we change the world. We quite literally participate in the creation of the world of which we dream.
What kind of world do YOU want to create today?
SOULPRINTS 