Someone told me this morning that I was the first person they had ever met in their lives who believed creativity was important, that it was not something to be squeezed in behind everything else, to be abandoned when we are busy, to be trivialized as a hobby or cute interest. I was surprised to hear it, but I have come to understand the importance of creativity, not just in my life, but in the lives of so many people I know and have encountered.
In our world, creativity, like spirituality and compassion, is trivialized, pushed to the side. Important things are discussed on TV and in the news – politics, finance, the minute-by-minute activity of the stock market, shown us in ticker tape streamers all day. Nobody is on television arguing about creativity, unless some dodo actor or politician has said something dumb about something he knows nothing about.
People tell me all the time they are too busy to be creative, they are working too hard, they don’t have time, their wives or husbands laugh at them. In my courses on creativity and blogs, the first thing I say is that creativity isn’t an interruption from the work, it is, for many of us, the work itself. I believe the creative spark is a gift from God, it is unique among all the species and animals in the world, in the Kabbalah God warns the only thing human beings have to fear from him is wasting the creative spark, failing to use it in pursuit of power or money.
We spent more time worrying about money in our world than almost anything, yet I have come to believe creativity is our soul, our identity, our struggle to make sense of our world and to find and shape the beauty and light all around us, this is our news, our politics, our passion.
Creativity is transformative, it frees our inner spirits, defines our souls, gives us purpose, lifts our hearts, is our language to the other struggling and yearning spirits of our world. Creativity is the purest form of passion, it deserves our attention and respect, it ought not to be pushed to the edge of life, out of sight, beyond reach, until it fades out of sight like a sailboat drifting on the horizon.
Creativity is important. It is the greatest antidote to fear and despair, it kisses our hearts and infuses us with life. In my teaching, I see fear all the time, choking off creativity, sending out little voices that say, “you can’t do this,” it is no good,” “people will laugh at you.” Creativity chokes off those voices, chases them away, it is much more powerful than fear. Creativity is self, it is who we are. Who we are not.
My wish for you: light your candle, raise your voice, sing your song. Creativity is important.