Creativity

The concept of creativity has been on my mind lately. When I look around at the world around me, I see more and more creativity. Youtube is a good example of an outlet exploding with content. 15 years ago the ability to express your creativity and ideas was limited to main stream media and entertainment outlets such as books, movies, and music. But in the last 15 years that has changed drastically.

After written language was invented creativity was captured and recorded in books. Even before that, stories were pasted on through oral tradition. Music has been a staple in human expression for almost just as long. Then in the 20^th century you have the move from theater to movies and we haven’t looked back since then. But in the future they will look back on this time (the last 15 years) as another milestone. The internet, Youtube, blogs, TV, and the radio have reached a pinnacle of accessibility. With tools to express ourselves so easily available, it’s a wonder we don’t all have an outlet for creativity. Wait, we do; Facebook.

My question is this: should we all be creating content? Just the sheer amount of content on Youtube makes me want to avoid it. We have all had the experience of watching a video waiting for the point; then when you reach the end you realize that there wasn’t one. “Welp, that’s another 4 minutes off of my life.” Then you have to look at the motivation behind the content posted. How many people are just trying to see their view count of the video go up? There are a lot of really talented people out there and they are doing it for the right reasons, but is this new accessibility helping those people or hurting them? I would argue that it is both. Places like Youtube and Myspace can be the jar of which holds all of the stones of creativity. The more you shake it, the more the big polished stones end up on top. I just want to avoid the shaking of the jar part. It is loud and annoying.

In the last few months I have decided that I think we should all try and be creative. There is a large (*) to that statement though. I feel like I want to create and express ideas; however I am not very good at it. Should I stop expressing myself? Should I stop at nothing until I am an author or movie director? No and No. Instead of worrying about IF my ideas and creativity are “good”, I should instead be focusing on THAT I am being creative. Let’s say I make a video. Whether it ends up being “good” or not, should not affect whether or not I make a second video. The fact that I am making something from nothing is the important part. I believe that God wants us to be creative. It does not matter if other people think it is good or not because God does not judge the quality of the final product, but more of the quality of the person’s heart and motivation behind it. Keep true to yourself and never stop creating. It does not have to be in the category of entertainment either. Cooking, sports, hobbies, and a million other avenues of expression can be utilized no matter what your personality type or abilities. Even if is making a blog that no one reads. Talking to a wall is better than not talking at all. If you do that, the walls might start talking to you. Don’t error on the side of inactivity. If time is the issue; make the time. Set aside the time and place and start making something.

The thing I think we should all get away from is just being a consumer. We consume TV shows, movies, videogames, music, gadgets, and books, but if we ignore creating our own content then we lose our opportunity to add to the quality of life here on earth. We are not just waiting for 2012 when the world ends. Helping others and the planet are expressions of creativity. We should help to maintain God’s creation and it is an extension of our Love in the form of using our lives to help others physically, mentally, and spiritually. Youtube might be new to us, but using God’s gifts to create and maintain life and ideas has been around from the beginning. If in your life you don’t write that book you have always wanted to write, or learned to cook like you have always wanted to, then what was your life? It was a mere shadow of what it could have been. It does not have to be so grand of an undertaking, but I think we should all do some soul searching and try and figure out what it is that we could be doing to help others. Think of creative ways to volunteer. Even if you are a stay at home mother, there are things that that you can do. Scratch that, especially if you are a stay at home mother. You have the opportunity to teach and train your children to be ‘outside of the box’ thinkers that have others well being at the center of their hearts. I want to teach/let my children be themselves and express their God given creativity. My cousin just had a baby less than a month ago and you can tell she is already developing her own personality. God made us so different, as long as we Love and follow Him; we should feel free to exercise that aspect of our uniqueness. Identical twins are never identical; same parents, same household, entirely different people.

The Catholic Church wanted to stamp out creativity back in the day. They wanted everyone to fall in line and learn to be told what to do and to do it. That’s not how Jesus did things. He marched to the beat of His own drum; all the while adhering to the heart of the Law. There is a balance that God can show us; one where we are unique and creative representatives of Him. Don’t tell yourself you can’t be creative, God genetically engineered you to be. You just need to search it out. Don’t pay attention to general indicators of success; they don’t matter. As long as you are evoking thought, love, assistance, somehow furthering God’s kingdom, or worshiping Him in the process; don’t worry about it. Just do it! Nike.

So I guess I should be looking forward to seeing all of your videos on Youtube soon;)