Our creative call!

The larger Creative Call comes...and if we are listening we can be assured we heard our name. Don't be shy, don't be afraid and DO NOT MAKE EXCUSES! Get happy, you have work to do, places to go, people to see, gifts to share. Answering the creative call does not mean you have to get entangled in a consumer culture....it simply means creativity calls you to be an integral part of life. It is not up to us to decide how important it is or how much we have to contribute. The question is always, "Do we dare participate in something that is beyond us?" Are we willing to be a participator in a dialogue that communicates to the larger world and is also influenced by that world. As you participate in the creative process, it will work you over, teach you about yourself, heal you many times and grant you the opportunity to see and feel the magic of great beauty. It is inevitable that when you witness and do not resist your own creative power, your life changes, your perspective changes, your heart's desire changes and you are free to be your best self.

Creativity helps us remember!

The term dry river bed may be an oxymoron, but in the Western desert, as sometimes in our lives, we have forgotten the flow that brings abundant life. Using your creativity gets the flow going when we have forgotten to be a compassionate observer/participator. I love the quote by G. K. Chesteron, "We are all under the same mental calamity, we have forgotten our names and who we really are. All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for certain dead levels of our life we forget that we have forgotten. All that we call spirit and art and ecstasy only means that for one wonderful instant we remember that we forgot." Recalling our creativity is like retrieving our spirit and letting it flow in the direction or remembering who we are. Today I'm going for a walk by the Columbia River and visit and art gallery that is at the water's edge just for fun!

Creativity is a continum of community!

Creativity is our calling and although we all respond differently with our particular gifts, vision and energy, the contribution we make adds to the entire design. Whether it is a sculpture in a public park, a mural on the side of a building, a photo of places we have been, the blended voices of a choir or the graceful dances of diverse cultures, we are drawn to participate in a creative ensemble that brings together separate talents to invent something that is much greater than the sum of its parts. I used to feel that painting was isolating and I love playing with others.....then I remembered that their are voices, images and phrases joined in creative work....somewhere, somehow....in a wonderful connection of communal contribution. The chemistry bubbles between cast members in a play, a dance troupe, a jazz band.....and even though I may be the only one painting in the room.....there is still communal chemistry. We share our work, mentor another, put down the words to be read by others, splash color across a canvas that stimulates the creative powers in another. I have a theory that our creative efforts....our life sustaining joy is like a giant tapestry and we are but one thread. If we withhold our thread, it changes the design.....the pattern changes, the colors blend differently, the dimension is altered. The participation in this larger tapestry lends more power to our individual creativity. There is no competition, no envy, no jealously....simply, the knowledge and appreciation that in this cosmic community of creativity there is room for every gift. Every creative work enhances and is enhanced by the work of others.

Creativity doesn't mean being "weird"!

Artists, writers, actors, passionate creative souls are often portrayed as a little weird, a bit crazy, unpredictably passionate. That always makes me smile when I go to art in the park in Boise and see all the different forms of creative souls....kids finger painting, photographers with their year's work under glass, painters, crafters, potters, jewelry designers, weavers and Mom and Pop vendors carving wooden figures or metal sculptors making something with nuts and bolts. They look pretty "normal" to me! When the creative soul makes peace with self-rejection it creates a bridge to his/her innate gifts. Shared expressions and passions become a gift to the world. The idea of self-rejection comes from feeling we just aren't good enough....we aren't perfect....we have no right to share our flawed talent. We have trouble as sensitive hearts forgiving ourselves for what we wish to be perhaps? When we get over ourselves.....and let our passions flow, forgive ourselves for not being perfect.....we are free to create and claim our birthright. Telling ourselves we aren't enough is like saying the color red is not red enough, blue is not blue enough....how silly. We are enough as we are created.....just the right form, color and texture....waiting to use our creativity to make the world a more diverse, colorful and interesting place.

Sometimes the canvas just isn't big enough!

Perhaps the canvas is not big enough, the page isn't long enough, the photo frame does not encompass what your heart holds. Whenever your heart opens up to embrace the view, it is often overwhelming.....how do you capture it, how do you do it justice, where do you start.....and that is the point of do or die! Those are the moments where the rubber meets the road and either you begin, or procrastinate, make excuses because things are not perfect or just start, feel inadequate or give it all you have. Starting and showing up with your creative soul is the biggest step. When the canvas isn't big enough to hold the joy in your heart......just begin with part of the view, a fragment of your vision, a piece of the puzzle. I have often experienced the wonder of the scenic route at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or watching the ocean storm against the rocks....and most of all watching Gracie tenderly handle a new baby chick. Sometimes it is hard to breathe it is so awesomely beautiful and wondrously made. As artists, we try to capture it....make a mess.....learn some more.....make another attempt and still the canvas cannot hold your soul's joy. Although we will never be able to see the entire picture, the lightness of seeing and the joy of being a part of it all as a passionate observer, is the journey that graces. The eye tends to see what the mind already understands.....so as an artist we stretch our canvas, not wanting to miss the miracles that are too big for our understanding. Just keep painting....just keep painting! The creative life is about stretching that canvas to meet our joy!

Your creative soul tells a story!

The creative soul is like a deep well....a well that is situated firmly in your life, your family, in the region and culture that shaped you and the history that produced you. The creative side of you hauls up the material out of this well....the images, memories, emotions, beliefs out of the mysterious dark well that is your subconscious and beyond conscious. This process is rooted in your intuitive, spiritual self and there is much more that you don't know about the well than what you do know. As the small bits and pieces of the picture unfolds, put aside the fear, rules, judgments and censors. The truly creative process is not something you control. When you try to control it, you short-circuit the creativity. Allowing the arrival of whatever comes out of the well may surprise you, some will disgust or even frighten you....but it is all material for you to work with, even if the work involves throwing something back. Not only is your soul bigger and wiser than your conscious ego, it knows the story better than you do....it has all the pieces to the picture. The well contains the composition, the third act of the play, the prize winning photos, the end of the poem and if you let it flow it will come up within your grasp. When you choose to participate in your soul's creativity by trusting the process and allowing the flow to do what it will, you make a huge step as a creative person. We aren't meant to control....just to participate.

Creating from adventures!

Human beings are by nature adventurous....the soul thrives on adventure and exploration. Using your creativity is a nutrient, not a hobby or pastiming. Your imagination is fertile ground for adventuring, even if we never get to travel into outer space or ride a horse into the mountains. Our childlike dreaming and imagining is the cornerstone of our playful, adventurous spirit. It is often squelched early on in life and buried under the rules and duties imposed by authoritarian parents, teachers, and ministers. I can remember wanting to "color outside the lines" very early on and playing dress up and pretending to be many things. My sense of adventure could not be contained by the warnings, "Be careful".....or, "You must get your work done before you can play." Playing was always on my mind, even while getting the "work done." I flirted with the clouds, romanced the wild flowers and risked what was lurking in the woods. The creative adventuring artist is wooed by a colorful enticement, not by an aggressive assault or warnings. Start venturing slowly out the door, break the habit of staying in your comfort zone....an adventure should whet your budding interest and not overwhelm you at the start. Stop worrying about playing in the big leagues....it will prevent you from playing at all. The adventure of creating is not about perfection or other people's perception.....it is about the play of ideas and the joy of exploring those ideas. It is the scenic route on a wonderful trip!