Exercising Creativity

 Way back in the beginning of February I talked about being faithful to my creative process. I talked about how being a good stewed was its own reward, and how faithfulness was most evident in the small things. And now toady, in the days of changing leaves and changing people, I’m getting to live in the reward. I am far from the end of the process because faithfulness and stewardship are life long roads to be walked. But even still I get live in the reward because I started this process long ago and am now further ahead than I would have been if I had waited till I “felt” like it.  

The reward of creative spent is more creativity earned. If you so desire to be more creative you have to start with what you have. You will not be given more than you can handle. I used to worry that if I spent all my creativity that would be that and I would have no more. Now that is how much of this physical life works, there is food until it is eaten, there is snow until it melts, there is fire until the wood is gone, but not creativity. No creativity is more akin to the building of a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes. The more you spend the more you gain. 

I have spent the last two weeks exercising creativity at ever chance I get and in any way I can. I colour before bed, I paint in every spare hour, I ponder all that is creative in every minute. 

I have been working on the same series of paintings for the last year now and I was becoming concerned that I would have nothing else to give once I finished. But just today the inspiration struck for the next two series that I would like to undertake. 

The inspiration only came after I had surrendered to the process. It’s one of those cases where in order to know where to go next you have to already be moving. It’s a planners nightmare, hahaha. But I’ve come to love it, and better yet I am more than thankful that I’ve made it to this place. 

I’ve been living in a hard season of life, and doing my best to stay healthy in the midst of the chaos, and I made the choice to be creative though the hardships. Because yes there are still all these difficult things dropping like bombs around me, but I made a choice. I could sit here and take it, slowly drowning in the emotions of it all, or I could paint, and dance and bake and colour and knit and write my way though the fire. 

It’s not about denying that life is difficult, its about choosing to place the focus on the good that is happing right now, right it front of my face. It’s about celebrating. Celebrating that painting has once again become the joy of my life and not the grief. It’s celebrating that I’ve come to the place I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to reach. And here I am, standing on top of the very mountain I thought would one day crush me. 

So here’s to the dreamers, to the fighters, to the promise keepers, it will get better if only you have the courage to put one foot in front of the other. 

Happy creating, and happy celebrating.