Our Creative Potential

"It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God."  Mary Daly

Most of us do a lousy job of nurturing our creativity, and too many of us question whether or not we even have it. God, the ultimate creator, made us in his image. I believe when God gives us a gift he doesn’t take it back, and I also believe that it gives Him great pleasure to see us use our creativity.

Research shows that using our creativity can raise self-esteem, lead us to more  happiness, allows us to live our lives more intentionally,  and it’s even been shown to successfully substitute for anti-depressants.  All good, right? Yet we struggle with it. What is it that keeps us from pursuing our creative potential? Some of us fear rejection, or place an emphasis on product over process; we blame our youth, or choose to just talk about it, rather than take action. 

The 21st century doesn’t seem to be the friend of creativity; it seems everything has been created for us. Meals come already premixed, premeasured, prepackaged, and precooked. Inexpensive clothes made in Asia means there's no need to sew them ourselves. Gift cards for our loved ones can be easily emailed or texted...no need for creativity there. "Homemade" quilts from the factory are a bargain, and who needs to garden with grocery produce sections overflowing! We're too busy anyway. We buy cheaply and throw away quickly. Our financial system in the US is built around consumption, so no need to come up with innovative ways to use and reuse our purchases anymore. It seems that our once stellar household creativity is no longer in vogue.

Several weeks ago I mentioned a book called The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. It's filled with inspiring suggestions about breaking out of our humdrum life and rediscovering the artist child within, no matter what age we are, or how untalented we feel.

Cameron suggests beginning the process of jumpstarting our creative recovery by using basic principles in order to bring that creative child out in the open. Her first requirement is that we write three pages a day of longhand stream of consciousness. She calls that 'morning pages'. I wrote about this in my blog titled: 'Put it in Writing.'

Julia Cameron says we have become depleted, stagnant and blocked. She says that in order to fill the well and stock the pond we need to surround ourselves, with images, art, innovation, imagination, and creativity. So besides our morning journaling, she requires we go on a weekly artist's date. This date can be anything from visiting the local art museum, shopping at a dollar store, picnicking at the park, strolling through the local gardens, enjoying a farmers' markets, going bowling, catching a movie, browsing the fabric store…. anything that's fun and feeds the starving artist's brain.  Cameron requires that the artist date is to be only you and your inner child. But, as you know, I’m in to small steps, so I think I might include others to begin with. 

So, is anybody up for recapturing the creative potential you have been endowed with?  Get out your journal, start writing, and set up an artist’s date for yourself this week.  (Perhaps you can go to the bookstore, peruse the self-improvement section, and pick up the book called The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron.

I’d love to hear about your artist’s date.  Post on the blog or email me, Karen, at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com

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