Against the Grain {Creative}

I've said it myself and heard it countless times:

"Well, I'm not creative like that, so I could never do something like ________"

Whatever the "something" is, we have that resounding excuse that we don't have that super awesome creative gene that everyone else seems to have been blessed with. I used to say this all the time. Probably still do without even thinking.

I see an incredible creation someone else made and think to myself (or say outloud), that I wasn't blessed with that gifting and am incapable of doing something similar.

But when I really look deep into it, I've boxed in the word "creativity" all on its own. I'm decided what the word means and who's skills fit into that category.

I've seen musicians and wished I could play an instrument or sing a tune like those people. Hoping I could let my words and thoughts flow out into a beautiful rhythmic and rhyming song. How creative they are.

I've seen artists that pour their emotions onto a canvas using the most glorious colors and strokes that beautifully orchestrate their pain or joy. If only I could possess that type of creativity.

I've seen crafters be able to sew together patches of fabric to make an incredible quilt. Weavers, carvers, crocheting, card makers. The endless gambit of creative genius pulsing through hands being made into masterpieces. And I feel lacking in all areas.

I do believe everyone has gifts from God. They just are naturally GOOD at certain things. And I believe we all have talents. Things we work at, practice and perfect to make our niche and passion in life.

But I'm talking about how we take those certain abilities and only see the flow of creativity coming forth and define THAT as the only means of creativity being displayed. As if it doesn't burst forth from all other areas of life. Maybe at your desk job. Or in being a mom. Or while you play a sport. I'm talking about how we stifle the very essence of creativeness and think it doesn't apply to us. Just because you can't carve a drummer boy out of wood with a pocket knife, does not mean you do not possess creativity. Just because you cannot take water and paint and make a portrait of your neighbor with a paintbrush, does not mean you are not creative.

Let's dig in:

Creative: adjective

1. having the ability to create

2. characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imagination

3. designed to or tending to stimulate the imagination

4. characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules of conventions

When I read that, I can't help but believe that we squelch our own possibilities. We automatically see ourselves as normal, plain, or even boring.

I'm not saying you have to be a master woodworker, incredible artist, or expert crafter. We do all have different gifts and talents.

But don't for a second think that YOUR gifts and talents are not creative. Or that you are not capable of creativeness.

Remember, creativity is the "ability to create and having imagination." Your thoughts, actions, deeds, words, are your own creativity in motion. It doesn't have to be defined into this box of what creativity entails. It doesn't JUST mean something artsy or crafty. While those things are amazing and those people who are naturally gifted are incredible to watch at work, we cannot keep "creativity" only there. So, IN THIS.... go against the grain. Your creativity does not have to and in fact, IS NOT like others creativity.

You rock your style. Bend the rules and stimulate your imagination. However that looks like for you. And start declaring and living out your God-give creativity. In your work. In your relationships. In your parenting. It does not look like others, and that is what makes it perfectly and uniquely your own creative outlet.

Play around with it and find where you can let loose and how you enjoy letting your imagination run wild.

And please.... STOP SAYING you are not creative. Because "being creative" is not defined into a certain area of expertise and hobbies. It does not lie in only musicians and artists. It is hidden in each of us. You just need not be afraid to let it loose.

Go against the grain and let your creativity soar.