What Will You Create?

Mug of steaming green tea by my side, here is another trickle of reflection from China...

Museums are some of my favorite places, as they connect me to other people and cultures, allowing  me to have relationships that time and space otherwise wouldn't.  My visit to the Shanghai Museum moved me deeply.  The known history of China is so old, yet there remain many preserved relics inviting me to imagine myself a member of that society so long ago.

Two thousand years ago, of course, day-to-day life looked much different.  In the absence of corner supermarkets, refrigerators and microwave ovens, indoor plumbing, combustion engines and technology, time spent was all about survival.

Right?  Maybe.

A trip to the museum revealed something deeper about the soul of man.  Tools and bowls and clothing serve a utilitarian purpose and there is really no practical reason to beautify them.  No reason, except that there is something innate in every person that needs to express itself creatively.

As I looked back at 2000-year-old pottery, etched and painted with skill and precision, I thought about the man (or woman?) who poured himself into his work.  Each object was made - no, created - by a Person who'd worked at his craft, taking it beyond mere basic functioning, and turned it into a piece of art. Perhaps it was commissioned by an emperor, perhaps it came from the crafter's soul.  It matters not.  The fact remains that someone thought it was important to add beauty to function.

The same is true, I've found, in other museums I've visited.  Here in Southeast Alaska, the Tlingit and Haida Native Americans have also gone beyond simple utility to skilled craft, as they wove complex designs into
their baskets.  Explore any museum anywhere, and I'd guess you would find the same thing.  Man has a need to create, to make beauty around him.

The soul is that part of man that houses the mind, will and emotions.  It is that deep part of yourself, the core you.  Those potters and basket weavers of old took the time to express themselves, responding to life around them.

Creating was the first act of God.  We bear His image in our need to do the same.  Be it knitting... landscaping... writing poetry... carving wood... playing an instrument... molding pottery... decorating a cake... designing a home... chiseling a sculpture... dancing... the need to create seems to be woven into the very fabric of our being.

My mother makes beautiful quilts, all stitched by hand.  A friend writes and sings moving songs.  Another friend creates thought-provoking documentaries.  Jewelry-makers, scrapbookers, photographers, authors, painters, poets, stained glass designers.  I am surrounded by beauty.

As I viewed all the artifacts in that museum in Shanghai, something inside me yearned to press in to create beauty.  I live in a rain forest, where days can be dark and dreary.  Tapping in to creativity fills a gap in my soul, invites sunshine in, warming me from the inside out.

Henry Matisse, a 20th century artist, said, "Creativity takes courage."  Haven't we all had the experience of wanting to try something new, but were afraid of the results?  Or we pour ourselves into a project, only to be too self-conscious to even think about sharing it with others?  Maybe therein lies the key:  just create.  Do what is in you, wanting to get out.  Don't worry about the results or what others may think.  Whatever it is for you, begin.  Begin.

Your soul will thank you.