Do you remember the first drawing you did that put a thrill in your heart? Or maybe it was the first story you remember writing (mine was “The Mystery of the Green Tennis Shoe Laces” in second grade – or was it first? No wonder I still like a good mystery.). Does it linger in your heart just because you suddenly realized the joy of creating? Or maybe you are more left brained and you got excited about the first science project you did, the first Lego ship you built by yourself, or the first history report you really excelled at (one of mine was on castles – I still remember some of the details). Maybe you loved helping people or pets. Every time you went out of your way to help someone, you created an alleviation of pain or a masterpiece of joy.
Maybe you wanted to invent some amazing, never- before-invented thing, but the best you’ve accomplished is to fill a child’s bike tires (oh, the joy on that child’s face!), fix random broken things (my husband is a genius at fixing the “unfixable”), or help create something at a local science fair (the younger generations have to be taught by someone that there’s a way to do it). If you’ve used your passion, your gifts, and knowledge to help someone else, what better way is there to spend your life?
Maybe you create computer programs now, or strive to discover a cure for cancer, or teach children to be creative, to want to learn, to grow up and be a force in the world. The world is full of different ways for us to achieve, create, make the world a better place, and especially to feed our souls. Maybe you love to draw or paint, but you’re not that good at it. Maybe you love to sing, but don’t have the best voice. So what. Maybe you won’t be chosen for the local art fair or the community choir, but maybe it makes you happy. Your drawings or your singing doesn’t have to be a masterpiece to everyone else. Go ahead and draw to your heart’s content, or sing in your space, in your church, or at birthday parties. Someone might be endeared by a voice that isn’t perfect, but is brave and bold and happy.
My family has a rich history of creating beautiful things. We were encouraged to draw, write, sew, sing, play instruments, dance, put on plays, explore, excel, and enjoy life. Because of it, lots of creating has happened over the years to feed our hearts and other’s hearts as well. From drawings and paintings to meals that were a piece of art or just very yummy, sewing for fun or for a living, building houses, furniture, and so much more, and teaching, and helping others in their fields or easing their pain. My mother, my siblings and I have been major creators in our fields and in our hobbies. What a joy it is to see it all. Embroidery, carvings, beautiful flower gardens, creating beautiful spaces, even creating a better life for others…so many facets of creating seem to have evolved in us.
I used to like to joke that we were practically born with a pencil in our hands. Whether to draw with or to calculate with, we have gone through many pencils. For myself, I sometimes use those pencils for art, but mostly for writing (or calculating) – although, these days, more often it’s a computer keyboard; much faster and saves trees – but either way, I’m seeking to create something. To finish a project. To let my spirit flow with what’s in my mind and heart to create something tangible. Some of my drawings are pretty good; some not so much, but it’s as much the process that feeds me as the outcome. It’s the possibilities of what it could be when I’m done. Sometimes I get it exactly right – exactly what I meant it to be. Other times, I can’t quite get the intended expression or thought out the way I wanted. It can be frustrating, but at the same time, I know I tried, and I know that it isn’t always going to be perfect. Sometimes, I have to take what comes out and make the best of it. It’s bound to feed someone else along the way, even if it isn’t what I wanted it to be.
And that’s part two of creating. Feeding others. Some of us don’t need to “feed” others to do our work. We just need to create. We may hope someone is touched by it, but ultimately, it’s the work, the creating that matters. Others of us are in need of touching others by our work. Our contribution to society, to people, to the universe… The feeding of our souls is only part of the creation. The feeding of others, whether to help them or to seek encouragement in our own being, our own purpose, or both. This is important to us as human beings; the need to be accepted, loved, validated, so it’s okay. Just as long as we don’t run our lives by other’s opinions. There are plenty of people who will agree with us on any given subject or love our creations, and there are plenty who will not. We don’t need other people to validate our existence. We are. Therefore, we are already validated. What we do with who we are will primarily only matter to ourselves, and that is our true validation. Our lives are in our hands. (I know it's not always that simple, but it is truth in whatever situations we go through.) When we’re in the twilight of our life and we can look back at the decisions we've made and the paths we took without too many regrets or “what if’s”, and we can be pleased at how we've used our time here on planet earth, that is our personal validation. The validation of who we are, who we've been; that is for us, and only us - our personal, ultimate purposefulness. [Well, that's a whole lot of deep wisdom. I may have to reread it a few more times myself, lol. You see? I'm over 60 now and I'm still sorting it all out. It doesn't mean I'm not a valid human being; just a human being.] Let's start making those right choices for ourselves and our family now, so we can start reaping the benefits of right choices. If we do have regrets, maybe we can finally let them go and relax in the years or days we have left.
Whether we are artists or writers, chefs or entrepreneurs, computer programmers or scientists, doctors, lawyers, or musicians, let’s go out and create. Let’s purposely create a better world, for ourselves and for our fellow humans to be, to grow, to create, to thrive, to enjoy! Let’s validate ourselves by validating others, by helping others on their path, by creating a beautiful world for us all to live in. We are the masterpieces, not our works.
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