On Creativity

Its innate to who we are. Some are more talented in one area or another but we all have a certain level of creativity within us. It’s truly inspiring to watch or listen to someone who is a master in their particular field. Whether its a photographer capturing the beauty of a sunrise, or a guitarist going off on an unbelievable guitar riff, seeing those who are better than us drives us to improve our own craft. I must say, I’m blessed to be gifted with many creative talents though I’m not a master at any (well, I’m close to mastering sarcasm, but that’s another story).

The act of creating, whatever it may be, gives us a sort of pleasure. There’s a sense of pride, better yet, self-worth, that comes with making something on your own, or even with a group. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, it doesn’t even have to be pleasing to anyone else (although that helps sometimes). It becomes an expression of who you are. The best writers don’t write their books just to see who will like it. They do it because they have a story that has to be told. A successful singer doesn’t start because they want the popularity, although that may come. A singer sings because there is a song inside just waiting to come out.

There are many different ways to express the creative side in each of us. Over the past few year, I’ve taken to building in Minecraft as a hobby to help me relax. Many people don’t realize it, but there’s a whole community of people that use Minecraft as a way to express the art inside of them. Some have recreated entire real life cities to scale while others have used it to bring a fantasy world to life. Some have even taken their skills and started building maps for other people to play on, oftentimes for a decent bit of monetary compensation. Although I might not be up to par with the best creative builds in the Minecraft community, I’ve been blessed to be able to develop my skills to the point of joining  a team of builders who design maps for other servers (shout out to the Athion build team). Sometimes the creativity means taking other people’s ideas and bringing them to life, but none the less, the process is always the same. You start from nothing and turn it into something.

I believe that is exactly the way our universe can to exist. Some may call me crazy to believe this but on this I am unwavering. The One who gave us life, created everything we see, hear, touch, and feel out of complete nothingness. This is why I feel creativity is so important to us. It’s one aspect of existence that we share with our Creator. We are meant to be creators ourselves. Some say, and I would agree, that there is something inside each and everyone of us  that longs to worship something. Our creativity is an act of worship to the One who brought us into existence by His creative power, made in His image, to reflect Him.

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