Monuments

”To safeguard these things will not affect the course of battles, but it will affect the relations of invading armies with those peoples and their governments...to safeguard these things will show respect for the beliefs and customs of all men and wil bear witness that these things belong not only to a particular people but also to the heritage of mankind...These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man's creative power. They are the expressions of faith, and they stand for man's struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.”

 

THE MONUMENTS MEN, by Rob't Edsel.

 

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I love this quote...a reminder that creativity is a gift from the Creator himself. This gift is resident in all of us. Some have cultivated it with astonishing fruitfulness. Some have had the gift stomped on, deprecated, and debunked in the home, the school, and at work. Some are unaware or unbelieving that they are bearers of the creative spark--let me urge YOU in particular--any little urge that you have to make something, do something unique, to say or write or behave in a way that diverges from the habitual, the usual--yes, THAT is the glint of creativity.

Fan the flame--in yourself and in others. Encourage kids and adults alike as they use hands and mouth and mind to create something new, different, and exciting. (Okay, it may be exciting only the that person--encourage 'em anyhow--it could be you who will want a little cheer-leading in some off-beat pursuit of your own, tomorrow!)

Questions?

"But I've never been creative, David."
--Bah, I don't believe it. You have surely doodled on the edge of a paper, or hummed a little tune unknown to any other human, or made a repair in a manner that nobody has ever done before, or you've added spices or ingredients to a meal that no other person had ever suggested to you...do you get my drift?

"But, it takes time, David. I'm so busy already..."
--Meh. We're all as busy as we choose. How many hours of TV have you watched today? This week? How many hours of playing games on the computer, or Facebook, or...I'll bet you know where your time slips thru your fingers. Make a deal to grasp a 15-30 minute chunk of time where you can spend some quiet, meditative moments, then compose/craft/make/modify/create/write/rhyme/paint/hammer/saw/knit/sew/glue, just go and do!

"But, I'm really uncreative, and all those verbs above just make me tired, David."
--Oy, so, maybe you are depressed? One of the best therapies for feeling tired and blue is to go and do--acting like you're not tired and blue often evolves into feeling energized and upbeat. Whattaya gotta lose?