Friday, November 6, 2009

We Are Born to Create

If I had any doubt before, I've just been re-assured.
Not once, but TWICE within a few hours, and so powerfully that I want to share it with all of you.

Curled up on the sofa last night, devouring the current issue of Somerset's Artful Blogging, savoring the delicious photos and feeling connected to the rich words of fellow bloggers, a name I recognized jumped up off the page and startled me from my reverie.
Seldom in "art circles" do I see leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints quoted, so I was caught off guard, but I read on with great interest.

Melissa Phillips of LilyBeanPaperie.typepad.com quoted Dieter F. Uchtdorf beautifully; his words resonated with me, as I'm sure they will with many of my creative friends:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did no exist before.
Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty. Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty....You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before---colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."

I pondered this reminder overnight, only to find the following posted by a friend (thank you Kathy!) on Facebook this morning. "Someone" must be trying to tell me something! Talk about being hit with a "spiritual 2x4" !!



If you or I have entertained any doubts about what we're doing, I think it's time to step back and re-think. There are valid reasons that we have the inclinations we do!
You and I were MEANT to create!

I have reason this morning to take stock, to stop running from my very nature and to move forward in my God-given abilities and desires, and to give thanks for them.
I can also thank Leah yet again at CreativeEveryDay.com for her challenge to us all to live up to our nature and create each day this month.

Let's go create something beautiful!

4 comments:

Kathryn Costa said...

Great post! I love the quote. I picked up Artful Blogging last weekend and looked through it once but look forward to digging through it page by page. I'll look for that reference.

You are creative! It feels so good to make creativity a priority.

Have a lovely weekend!
k

Jennifer said...

Oh my yes Kathryn! I grab that thing as soon as it hits the stands, but then I save it until I have time to curl up with it and a cup of peppermint tea and some dark chocolate.
Then it's hard to pull me away from it!

We're ALL creative; I think we tend to forget sometimes that we're MEANT to be and that it's perfectly ok to be creative, and for some of us to spend our lives immersed in it.
I loved seeing our spiritual leaders remind us of what we are meant to be!

Enjoy your creative weekend as well!

Jenz

Fondant Kiss said...

Im still pondering your beautiful post! How powerful. I showed it to my partner... he sighs so much when I sit at my desk for hours and hours.... the guilt is there but so is the need to create! I too have joined Leah's challenge.
Best regards
Deborah

Lis said...

hey there! so good to see you on AEDM ... i just joined in the fun myself.

Yes, lovely post ... affirms why I am doing all the things I am doing, even when I feel a tad crazy for it all!