Fitting The Pieces Together

Conditions for creativity

are to be puzzled;

to accept conflict and tension;

to be born everyday;

to feel a sense of self.

ERICH FROMM

German born American

Philosopher/Psychoanalyst

1900-1980 

  

It is liberating to be free to create with our own gifts and talents.  Yet often times we are faced with conflict and become discouraged. Each day we start anew, and our creative gifts need to be expressed in a manner most comfortable to our inner being. In many instances, it takes years to discover the way to articulate or display our gifts in harmony and purpose.

Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. It is not limited to music or painting or writing.  Inside of our being, there is a yearning to express our own sense of creativity.  Whether it is in mathematics or science, language arts or history, creativity plays a definite role.  We use creative expression in all that we do and it gives us a deeper sense of self.

From generation to generation, arts and crafts are frequently passed down.  There are third generation weavers or sculptors or carpenters. The art form may change from generation, but the basic skill threads its way through families.

My mother was very skilled in sketching which she used to design clothes and wedding gowns.  Her creativity was never used to its fullest and I believe this stunted her spirit.  

I received the gift of creativity as well, but unlike my mother, I cannot sew much more than a button.  I learned to express my creativity through different ways, such as: knitting, crocheting, candle~wicking, quilting, basket weaving, and various forms of painting.  

Although not skilled, I love to sketch in my journals which I have kept since childhood.  I have a passion for writing and it is my main outlet for creativity.  I have a gift for full color visualization in meditation which supplements both my spiritual life and daily activities.

Creativity has been passed down to my children as well.  My oldest son is very creative in building and story telling.  My next son finds mathematics to be a language  he speaks fluently.  My youngest son is gifted in carpentry and his gardens are filled with creative design.  My daughter, the youngest of the four, shows her creativity in her eclectic approaches while working as a therapist, and as a professor teaching to college grad students while dressing with original flair reflecting her creatively unique spirit.

Like mastering anything else, creativity takes time and patience.  Whether it is baking, cooking, gardening or furniture arranging, creativity must be cultivated with devotion and imagination.  We each have an obligation to explore gifts and talents as they are an important part of our personal and spiritual development and an excellent outlet for stress.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle.  It is not until we fit several pieces together that we are able to see color and reason taking form.  As our lives begin to take shape, pieces do not necessarily fit together more easily, but the bigger picture becomes an incentive to carry on.