Being Creative

Holy Hands

“Creativity is so satisfying. That is why it is so important, not because it produces something, but because the process is cosmological, spiritual, centering and satisfying.”
Matthew Fox

There is primal satisfaction in making something with our hands even if no one else will ever see it. It almost doesn’t matter what we do so long as it requires imagination and focused concentration. When one enters into a creative project, time ceases to matter. We go for hours without food or water. What we produce may not be a masterpiece, but it will be an honest expression of us. The act of creating is, itself, satisfying to the soul. It lights us up in a way nothing else can. Theologian Howard Thurman said: “Ask not what the world needs, rather ask what makes you come alive and go and do that, for what the world needs is people who have come alive.” When we are actively engaged in creativity, we come alive.

In order to fashion something new, however, we have to let go of what has come before. We can not enter into the creative process with a critical mind, one that is constantly comparing this new thing to some previous thing. The person who wants to hold on to what has been, or compares the new unfavorably to the old, cannot construct something unique. Creativity demands that we allow the juices to flow freely and follow where they lead us rather than try to reproduce what has already been.

Generating something new allows us to participate in the work of the Creator. Bringing something into being, something that didn't exist before is an ultimately creative act. Perhaps it is this spark of divine energy that brings us alive when we are creating, especially when we are making something good. In fact, we feel most alive when we produce something as a team for the benefit of the whole.

The day-to-day grind of life can dull the spirit and the senses. It damps down our aliveness. Whether we are planting seeds in the ground, arranging flowers in a vase, practicing music for a concert, cooking a delicious meal, creating green space in the middle of the city, planning a service or a celebration, writing a story, painting a picture or millions of other activities--in that moment, we enter into Divine creation. We become the hands of the Holy in the world.

In the Spirit,
Jane