I am not a robot. I am not my social security number. I am not a statistic. I am not the composite of my facebook profile. I am not what you see. I am more then what I knew yesterday and more than what I will know tomorrow. For now what I know is that in the moments when I color outside of the lines, when I de-thrown ego and logic from their thrown, and when I act from a place unplanned and unconscious I discover such moments of bubbling bliss that I am once again convinced that it is by playfully tapping into our inner lives that we realize our true potentials. Creative outlets provide potentials a stomping ground for exploration and discovery. Creativity facilitates the discovery of passion and purpose. Without creativity we fall prey to cookie cutter thinking and complacently become grunt workers on whatever ships society and government dictate we set sail. Creative outlets remind us that we are more then our paychecks, our jobs, our cars, our genders, our clothes, our houses, our ethicitiy. Each of us is a unique tapestry full of vibrant colors and textures with the capacity to continually expand. And to suppose that we all could possibly shine the same way in the same light is ridiculous. So why do we fool ourselves into thinking that everyone is best suited to the same path lived the same way? Even treadmills at the gym offer options for how you would like to spend the next thirty minutes of your life. Resturants realize that not everyone enjoys the same main course. And churches realize that not everyone wants to worship the same way. So why would you allow something as precious as the decisions of your life to be relegated to somebody else's idea of what looks good to them??? Your life, your choice. We know this in our heads but we somehow allow other peoples' voices to carry more weight then our own. By refusing to give up on creative outlets we help ourselves to keep our own sense of identity alive in a world eager to blanch you of any color that clashes with its wallpaper. Sing, dance, paint, act, play an instrument, join a sporting team, become an expert at quilting....I dont know what your fancy is but find it and play with it and don't let anyone take it away from you.
We glisten in the sun and shine in the void to the extent that we dive within and answer the call of our own wild horses. You can call these inner voices the call of the wild, or the passions of your heart, or the will of God, but they all refer to the same truth. And that truth is the reality that abundant life is within everyone's grasp and that we must reach above, within, and beyond ourselves in order to receive that abundance. The courage necessary to exchange the shackles of convention for the purity of a life lived in authenticity and honest response does not always come naturally or easily. But by adopting a habit of creativity courage becomes easier to muster. Creativity brings equality to the playing field because at the end of the day we are all kids who want our turn in the sandbox, our time on the swing set, our chance to soar down the slide. Whether its on a tuba, on a theatre stage, with a paintbrush, maybe a fashion design, perhaps its in a cooking class, could be with a clay oven, just as well might be in computer code, and likely is something you already do in your spare time....whatever it is, whatever your passion or creative outlet....hold onto it tight and celebrate it daily. The instincts of children are to play every day. We should learn from their wisdom.
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