The sound of the wind may be as soft as a whisper across your skin or as loud as the roaring sound of rumbling thunder. Perhaps you hear no sound at all but feel drawn, an inner pull, a sense of eagerness and desire that resonates from within. This nudge is the call to create, and it is universal, bidding each of us to bring something new into being and live a creative life.

“Creativity is the Self searching for itself,” said George Gamez, Ph.D., author of How to Catch Lightning in a Bottle. We create to express our unique visions and perceptions. We create to communicate and to form a bond with our fellow human beings.

Creative expression helps us feel connected to the world and builds bridges of experience. It nourishes us and helps us grow, provides insights and deeper understandings. As we let our imagination flow, we relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and release tension. Creativity is fun, exciting, and playful. It provides a way of communication when normal channels may be blocked or are insufficient—when we must speak in colors and textures and shimmering visions and music.

Creativity feeds the soul

Creativity is love expressing itself; it heals and renews. It nourishes the mind, heart, and soul. Our creations are mirrors in which others may see themselves and the signature of our lives that says, “This is how I saw it.”

When we are engaged in expressing our creative Self, nothing else seems to matter. Our attention is focused. As I ask in my book, A Kinder Shift to Wellness, “Can you remember an occasion when you got so absorbed in an activity that you lost track of time and everything else around you?”

I continue sharing, “This happens to me when I sit at the piano and compose music. I get into a flow. Two hours can go by in a blink of an eye. I am totally engaged as I let the sounds enchant me. My fingers seem to know exactly where to go as they caress the keys. I feel the depths of my soul in every note I play, whether expressing an air of sweet melancholy, ecstasy, or joy. My emotions move with the music like a sacred dance. I can see my story in the music. The music carries me to places within myself, opens the heart, and allows me to connect with Divine Source. I become the music, and the music is me. I experience a sense of oneness, and I am at peace.”

Everyone is Creative

No matter what you may have been told, every one of us is creative. It is as much a part of us as our voice, our breath, and fingerprints. Creativity isn’t just about making “art.” Cooking, gardening, handiwork, crafts, storybook photo album, and keeping a journal are all creative acts. Arranging flowers or rearranging furniture, painting a picture, or painting a room, and singing on stage or singing in the shower — these are responses to the call.

Creativity is a way of living. It is spontaneous and playful, exercising the imagination, finding solutions, embracing possibilities, and doing it with passion. As you express your unique talents, personality, and values, you build confidence and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Yet, for all the joy and fulfillment it brings, some resist the call to be creative. In our culture, the ideas that “Time is money” and “Art is frivolous” hold influence and old messages such as “Stay inside the lines” or “You can do better than that” have remarkable staying power. It takes courage to look beneath the surface so we may find our heart’s desire and live a creative life.

Creativity requires risk-taking. It asks us to surrender, to lose control, and to trust. “Committing to our creativity is an act of faith,” wrote Jan Phillips in Marry Your Muse. “A promise to believe in ourselves.”

To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is way to make your soul grow.

 So do it. – Kurt Vonnegut

Honoring the creative Self means finding time, making space, and being patient. Take a chance of looking foolish. You cannot care too much what others think or say. You must be willing to start over and stay with it; creativity takes stamina. There are no magical secrets or absolute rules. You just do it. “Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us,” said renowned artist and former nun Corita Kent.

Like the body’s natural urge for motion and the human need for connection and community, the spirit longs to express itself. So, when you hear the call to create, answer, “Yes.” It is your self searching for your Self, a movement toward being whole. Say “Yes” and live a creative life.

 

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