Creativity; It's a Way of Life

I am not sure what my life would look like without creativity; I am not sure what I would do were my daughter not a kid who lives in her “right” brain.  Together, we are a house and a family of creative energy – that energy takes many different forms and extends beyond the walls and windows of our home.  It is more than the buckets and bins of drawing tools and paper scattered about our house or the various musical instruments both factory  and hand created.  It is larger than the flowers and plants and herbs that grace our balcony in summer and add life to our house in winter.  And it stretches beyond the creative masterpieces that emerge from our kitchen on any given morning or weekend late afternoon. 

Our creativity is a part of our everyday lives; but, it is also something that we share with the people in our lives and our community. 

  I have heard several a person comment that they are not creative.  In this they have an understanding that to create  and to be creative is to engage in the arts – to bring that which is imagined to life on paper, in words, in music, or in action.  But “create” is far more broad than this limited definition.  I am amazed at the technology that is created every day (TED is a great place to see this in action).  Or the amazing ways people create safety and security for themselves or for others. 

And it takes just a walk outside or listening carefully to the wind or the birds… amazing creative energy.

   April was a month of creating for me – creating space for new beginnings both in my own life and in our house.  It was a month of learning and creating using words in a more formal format; a month of working to create a sense of balance and acceptance for my daughter and myself as things transition into the unknown. 

I believe that we have choices – that life gives us opportunity after opportunity to create  something different or to create more of ourselves in a way.  We are faced with hardships; we have the room to create our response and choose the way forward.  We can find ways to make lemonade or we can stand motionless next to a pile of lemons or we can decide to be angry that we weren’t given oranges.  The idea is that we create with what we have and generate accordingly.

  We create; we choose; we generate… and as we move forward we are creating for the world at large.  My daughter creates wonderful drawings to send to relatives, encourages the friends in her class, and generates smiles wherever she goes.  Together we recognize the people around us and genuinely wish them well and give them thanks for all their efforts or their kindness. 

So when people tell me they aren’t creative – I wonder if they don’t realize all the wonder that they create each day; each moment; and with each thought. 

Creating is about getting your hand wet and playing in the paint or the mud; and it is about choosing to make choices and seeing people for who they are… human beings just like each of us.  ****

This month’s RAOKA theme was create; next month’s theme is Equanimity.  For more information on RAOKA or to read more Create posts - take a few minutes to click over and visit the lovely Zeenat - our wonder filled RAOKA host!!