Being Creative

Being Creative

 

What are some of your desires for the New Year?

I am not thinking about those familiar resolutions…

                   lose 10 pounds,

                   eat healthier,

                   save more, spend less.

What I am wondering about is what might bring real joy into your life…

          To be more at peace,

                   have more patience,

                   feeling of calm and completeness,

                   enjoying life’s little pleasures.

In other words…

          how might you and I experience spiritual growth?

Our lives are so busy, so filled up with

          commitments and obligations,

          distractions,

          finding ways to fill an emptiness.

So where is that time for self-care?

          for renewal?           for prayer?

          for spiritual growth?

Just as we need food and water for our bodies to live and grow,

          we need to feed our souls, our spirit, our inner light.

 

Creation.

Creation is what fills me;

          being in God’s creation and embracing my own creativity.

Have you ever walked in the woods alone (but not alone)?

Have you been in that moment

where all you hear are birds chirping or a bullfrog croaking?

Have you sat by a stream or pond and watched the light play on the water?

These are the times I listen; listen to God’s voice.

Whether it’s the sound of the wind, the flow of the waterfall,

or an inner voice guiding me,

this is when God answers prayers.

 

Creativity

God’s creation is there to inspire our own creativity.

What wonderful things God has created

          -earth, sea, sky, creatures, nature, humankind.

Our response to God, the Creator is

          growing into what God desires for us to be,

          using our talents and gifts,

          living a life that glorifies and praises God.

Look at the creativity that is within each of us…

                    the imagination and play that began in childhood

                    matures into being productive, being artistic, being poetic:

the moment mere words become poetry;

the moment you take a brush in hand and begin making

                    ‘happy little trees’ upon a once blank canvas;

the feeling of kneading and molding clay into bowls or jars.

God has gifted us with talents, blessed us with time,

          encourages us with guidance from the Holy Spirit.

 

So, the hopes for the new year...

          embrace the creativity within you;

          let your inner child play;

          listen to the silence in nature;

          share your gifts;

          be creative!