Because You Are Creative

Are you squeezing creative time into a demanding schedule and wondering if it’s worth it? Many creative people must balance the time and money they spend on their creative pursuit with other responsibilities such as making a living, relationships, community or politics. The American culture is not known for generous support of the arts or intellectuals and is increasingly suspicious of free expression. nnArtists are brave. To be an artist in any media, or to reserve time for yourself for creative or spiritual work of any kind, means that you fly in the face of a noisy commercial culture that exhorts to you to go more places, buy more, do more, more, more, more. nnIt is worth it! When you take time to celebrate your creativity, you begin to see or are reminded that your creativity has not been a drain, but in fact has enriched your life in many ways. You may experience some of the following benefits:nnBecause you create, you have depth, open-mindedness and wisdom. nnBecause you know the creative process, you solve problems better and faster in any work or volunteer position. nnBecause you are creative, you have the skills of a leader: vision, power in communication, and flexible thinking. nnBecause you know the imagination, you connect to the imagination of young people – children and students. nnBecause you know who you truly are, you have authentic relationships with other people. nnBecause you are courageous in expressing your own ideas, so you have the courage to stand up for truth. nnBecause you know true happiness is not found only in material things, you are not vulnerable to the relentless seductions of advertising. nnBecause you spend time observing and listening to your true self, you feel deep appreciation for the beauty present in every moment.nnn© Janet Luongo, 2005.