The Power of Creativity

The Power of Creativity

For the past few days, I have been on edge. My guess is that it’s just “that time of the month” reeking havoc on my mood. But today, I have been very focused on hanging pictures on the walls, moving a few things to different spots, and coming up with ideas for the house that reflect our family more. I realized after several hours of this, that I’m obsessing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining really. When I am in this frame of mind, I can think very clearly “outside the box”. The outcome is usually amazing, and nothing I could accomplish on a regular sane day. However, the feeling of NEEDING to be creative, not being able to do anything other than what my mind has latched onto, can be a little frightening. It’s like I don’t even see or hear what is going on around me. My mind buzzes with ideas, some I can actually accomplish, and some that are so outlandish that looking back at them I’m asking myself “really? come on….” Then I actually answer myself “yeah, let’s try it!”

Have I completely lost my mind? Does everyone go to this magical wonderland in their head? Sometimes when I’m there, I never want to leave. Maybe I’m writing music, scrapbooking, taking pictures, decorating, creating art…. whatever it is, it can be an amazing feeling. Unless, I get trapped there. It happens on occasion, especially when “the muse” visits me. There really is no other explanation for it. I’ve used that term for years for the times when a song NEEDS to be written and finished. Yes, “needs”. I’ve learned that to ignore The Muse is to lose the song forever. She will not be ignored. She nags at me, taps on my shoulder, says “you must do it now or never”.

Visits from my muse have been some of the most emotional times in my life. I’ve written about happy moments, sad moments, happenings in the world, whatever she deems important enough to put to song. I lock myself up in my music room and in my head. I forget to eat, barely take enough time to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. Once in a while it’s too much, and I drink (or other things) & come out of it the next day with something so close to my heart, that I can’t believe it came from my hands, my voice, my head.

There have been times when the songs are so personal, so deep, that I’m almost embarrassed to play them for others. I ask myself: ”what will they think?” ”will they want to know why I wrote it?” ”Will they know my secrets after they hear it?” “Will they relate?” “Will it help someone in the same situation?” I decided long ago to just play them when it feels right. The listener will take what they want from it, hopefully relate it back to themselves.

Some neat things have happened to me over the years of playing my songs for others. Even at the bar, I have had many tearful hugs and handshakes from people who were moved one way or another by what I have written. I never know what to say, or how to react, because it just doesn’t seem possible that something I created could move another person so much. Can I really do that? I mean, it’s special to me, because I wrote it, but… it’s just hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea that someone else could love it just as much.

Art is a powerful thing. I have a painting in my music room that made me cry when I first saw it. It moved me in a place so deep inside, that I didn’t pick it up from the artist until 5 years after I paid for it. I was afraid to have it in my possession, it had that much power over me. Now I sit and stare at it quite often. I’ve memorized every line of it, the emotions, the looks on the faces. I draw strength from it now, when before I couldn’t hardly bear the feelings it invoked. I’ll post a picture of it someday, it’s really a blog post in itself. So, I guess if I can have that powerful of a reaction to a painting created by another, then it just might be possible for someone else to have a powerful reaction to a song of mine. I do get a lot of happiness knowing that something of mine, could make someone have a deep emotional experience.

Isn’t that the real reason people create? I mean deep down. We create because we are compelled to do it, we MUST do it, we must vent our emotions into song, poetry, books, paintings, sculpture, whatever our “medium” is. In venting our emotions, we are also compelled to share our creations with others, to let them have an emotional connection too, and we all feed off the energy. Art connects people together, whether we speak the same spoken language or not, it doesn’t matter. We can communicate through the Art. It’s really an amazing thing we humans can do.

Not everyone can “create” in the same way. It is the responsibility of those who have the calling to provide these beautiful things for those who haven’t been given the gift. The same way that someone who has been compelled to invent/explore science/ teach/ build/ heal/ whatever, must share THEIR calling with the world. Each of us has been given a unique and special gift. We all contribute to this world in our own way. We each provide something to society that not everyone can do. We must depend on each other for these things. When we knit all these special gifts together, it creates this wonderful network of working together & providing for one another.

My father is one of the most brilliant men I have ever met. He never went to college, he’s not that great of a reader/writer. He has zero knowledge of today’s communication/computer technology. He can’t sing, play an instrument, paint a painting but…. He can fix and build anything, and I mean anything. His mind works in ways that even the most educated engineer probably couldn’t do. If he can’t find what he needs, he builds it himself. He has singlehandedly saved the factory he works for millions of dollars with his ideas for machinery and efficiency. He’s never been given the proper credit of course, as the higher ups take all the glory, He’s never been given much more than a couple cheap gift cards for his contributions, but the joy he gets from solving the problem is priceless. He contributes with his own version of creativity. He is also one of the most sensitive, loving and generous people I’ve ever met. He may not be able to create music, but I have seen him brought to tears just from song. And boy does he love to DANCE! He is the first person to lend a hand to someone who needs a project completed, I really admire him.

Recently I reconnected with an old friend on Facebook. She had told me how glad she was that I was still singing and asked me if I still played this one particular song. She couldn’t remember the name of it, but remembered the first two lines: ”I don’t remember mama, she died when I was young”. I had sang it around a campfire when we were very little, grade school. I couldn’t remember the song, so I had to look it up. “Keep on Singin’” - Helen Reddy. Holy SHIT, as soon as I started listening to it, all these wonderful memories of singing/listening to that song flooded back to me. Brought tears to my eyes. I’m in the process of re-learning it now. How on EARTH did she remember that from 30 years ago? We were friends, but not super close…. I was blown away. Could it be that even then, the music had that much influence?

We must all let our personal “muse” take us by the hand. Let her lead you down your creative path. Develop your gift, share it with the world. Don’t waste the talents you have been given. Use them. It will not only fill a void in YOUR heart, it will also fill a void in the heart of someone who needs/wants what only you can do. It doesn’t matter what it is. It doesn’t have to be artsy fartsy, it can be an invention, fixing a car, building something, planting a garden, healing a hurt, comforting someone, being a good listener, teaching, preaching, cutting hair, repairing a pipe, saving an animal, ANYTHING. There is no pre-defined list you must choose from. Whatever you are compelled to do, whatever you are passionate about, it’s YOURS. No one else can define it’s worth, because it’s value can only be determined by you, and by those who love and need it just as much as you do. There can be no price put on fulfilling your personal destiny, and using it to help someone else.

I challenge you today to take a really good look at yourself. What moves you? What do you find yourself daydreaming about doing? Ask yourself “Am I making the most out of my gifts”. ”Am I satisfied with how I am using my talents?” What can I do to share these things with others?” Life is short, time is fleeting. Get out there and DO it. I promise you, the joy and satisfaction you get will be immeasurable and life changing.