A PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF THE CREATIVE EXPERIENCE - HTTP://GIOVANNIANDFRANCO.INFO -
We consider ideas that people often think about but seldom explore - ideas on how to remain authentic and be your real self. We define success as the realization of what you need to be and having the courage to become that person - this is what creativity is about.
The message to individual Christians today could never be clearer: As a Christian, you have an obligation to see that your government serves the poor and those most in need of compassion and help.
It seems that some consider this an “entitlement” philosophy. They make the assumption that any government program that creates a service to help people to take advantage of opportunity is wrong.
In fact, if the service rendered to people in need creates dependency and nothing else, there is much merit to this opinion.
This gets to the heart of the problem. When you create a government program whose intent is compassion and service to those most in need, the creation of the service does not end the Christian’s responsibility.
Equally important is the follow through necessary to see that the program works.
This is the step where everything falls apart and provides the fuel that drives the antigovernment, conservative’s position forward.
This again raises the question: What are “people of faith” doing about it?
As life unfolds for each of us, we soon discover we all travel different roads with various choices and destinations. That is life, pure and simple.
Why then are these choices, for so many of us, so difficult? For one, to make the point, we have choices. And, if we have choices, it is important to remember; we are fortunate enough to be able to afford them financially. This point seems lost on so many people.
So, if you are struggling with alternatives, consider yourself privileged. You are already better off than thousands of other people who are simple struggling to stay alive. How many souls on this mortal coil must do whatever is attainable just to survive? For them, there is no choice – do what is obtainable or die.
So the next time you are unhappy with who and what you are, and you have real choices as to what you may become – count your blessings. You are truly one of the fortunate human beings.
If there is a secret to creating the so-called good life, it is having something to look forward to. However, this is only the first step. What you are looking forward to should have significant meaning not only to you, but also to those you serve - please note the word “serve.”
What often gets lost today is that most meaningful activity involves serving someone else other than seeing to your own needs. With all the advantages our society provides, there are still caveats. For one, we are developing a narcissistic culture that permeates everything we do.
There was a time when “being the best you can be” meant a life of service to others. I am sure there are many who will disagree with this, but I think the facts speak for themselves. Today, service usually means taking care of your needs first.
Of course, this is always well disguised as an altruistic endeavor. The premise is that by serving your personal needs first, you will be better prepared to minister to the needs of others later.
There is something to be said for the proverb “Physician, heal thyself,” but where is the line between selfishness and altruism.
That is for each of us to decide. How are you doing?
The problem with our present wars is that they are not really our wars.We are willing to let them be someone else’s wars -- the selective few that choose to volunteer.Because they volunteer, we can rest easy in our willingness to let someone else’s sons and daughters die for us.
That is why these wars stink.Not because they are good or bad wars or politically necessary, but because we are not willing to pay the price that all wars should demand – equal sacrifice from all of us.
So most of us live our daily lives without need to worry about the price.And, of course, we are all too ready to honor the service of those who sacrifice, since they insulate us from having to honor the need for our sacrifice.
We always hear that if you try hard enough and never give up, you will be successful. Fact, or wishful thinking? What if you are one of the many hard-working souls that never gave up, but never reached the success you dreamed about?
Was it all for naught? Did you waste your time? I for one think you did not. Did you meet your basic responsibilities in your quest for greatness? If you did you fulfilled the one responsibility asked of all of us.
And let us not forget – you were in the arena. You tasted the elixir of greatness. Maybe it was only a taste, but in the process, you were alive and as a result – lived.
An American perspecitve from a portalized Pizzaonian's point of view............
There is a general belief that abundance will always be available if you think and act positively. This may be true, but often what is omitted from this platitude is there is no greater creator of bad karma then to waste or squander the abundance you have acquired.
It is an easy jump to conclude this is now happening in the United States. The abuse of our country’s incredible recourses and environment to sustain its power, comfort and pleasure permeates our senses at every turn. We could argue when this point was reached, but does anyone still believe we haven’t?
This reality can be masked very easily by our concentration on the “have nots”, those people through no fault of their own who find themselves at the vagaries of life’s miseries. By concentrating on our virtues and good intentions to help others, we allowed ourselves to go blind to our enormously wasteful lifestyles.
This will seem offensive to those that believe we live in the “promised land” and abundance is our providential and given birth right. Perhaps it is, but that still does not change what we see happening around us everyday. Something is out of whack and we better figure it out soon.
But in the meanwhile, the beat goes on. We retreat to the islands we have created for ourselves and wait for the problem to be solved. I suspect the only reason we haven’t disintegrated into space is because of the good works of the few saints that sustain us all with their good karma. Unfortunately, too many of us think we are those saints.
Frank John Franco commenting for "Musings" a division of the Pizzaonian Newertainment Network, Diverti Mento, editor
Some additional thoughts on creativity from Brother Franco
Late at night it occurs to me that within each of us sits a silent demon who prevents us from fulfilling our true talent. For many of us, this demon sits in blissful silence without our being conscious of its presence. For others, who may be more introspective, we are sensitive to its presence. Either way it sits there in the deepest recesses of our consciousness, lurking in the shadows doing its damage.
And what is this demon about? For each of us it is exclusively our own creation. Somewhere in our lives, some event or experience, created a latent destructive tendency that feeds our demon's existence. What do we do about it? The answer to this question will define the amount of success we achieve in our lives.
The real issue here is not whether you will be successful, but will you reach the success you were uniquely created for. My assumption here, based on years of experience and observation has led me to believe we each have a unique talent meant to be and in that realization, we make our contribution to life and to the time in which we live.
In some lives, the demon is obvious and clearly destructive. However, this is not the case for most. For many, their demon hides in the darkness, never being completely destructive, but still doing its damage.
One unerring sign that your demon still remains in control is the nagging feeling that something is not right, even though by most standards, you and others believe your life to be successful. The feeling, however, may not always be there. For many, it lurks in stillness, its presences keeping you locked in place, a silent and effective brake to complete fulfillment.
Your particular demon may seem to have a life of its own - its existence independent of yours, as if it were a different being or presence. However, nothing is further from the truth. Your demon exists because you allow it to exist. For each of us, we are the ones who give it its power; we feed its existence by our lack of courage to embrace completely our unique talent and allowing it to exist.
Why is a lack of courage always the culprit? More than likely because when we allow our unique talent to exist openly with in full bloom it, exposes who we are. For many, this will seem and sound strange.
However, when we are willing to be fully introspective and be honest with ourselves, we come to understand that when we live to the fullest, we reveal to the world who we are. The masks drop away, and the real self stands alone.
What awaits those who have the courage to fully live? I would like to say obvious success. Unfortunately, that is not guaranteed. To live fully and openly has its risks, and some are very real and not always easy to face.
However, we do know this: The sole chance to be complete is to allow your unique talent to prosper. This is the only road to true contentment. Please note the word contentment rather than happiness - happiness is for the immature. For those who have experienced life and know its perils, we are quite willing to seek contentment as our goal.
The day was like all other days – or was it? Every once in a while a bit of doubt sets in. Is this really like all other days? Happy endings – or just the end?
There is always the possibility that this is the last day. For untold numbers on this mortal coil the day and life will end – often uneventful, and for most of the world – unnoticed.
I never let this thought linger to long – even though it can be a useful short reflection – it can either move you to get going, or get ready to go – your choice.
Today I would like to explore more ideas on how each of us can become more creative. I need to remind everyone that this is an exploration only. I make no pretensions that I have all the answers, or that we are going to solve every problem as take this journey.
I am proceeding from the assumption that we are all naturally creative and that somewhere in the process of our daily living; we lose this natural ability. And that does not mean we are automatons, simply going through our regular routine. Most of us still act as intelligent people and perform the necessary functions for a reasonably successful life.
However, as we mature, the creative static that is always in our consciousness grows louder, and demands to be heard. The status quo is no longer good enough, and we know we need to make changes if we are to become the person we were meant to be.
We also know that the changes we need to make will only come about if we become more creative in our approach to every aspect of our lives. For those who have experienced this, little explanation is necessary. We know this nagging sensation that something is not right.
Before we can continue we need to define what being creative is and if there is actually a process that can be standardized for all of us. I’m not sure there is. So we need to proceed cautiously from this point and make sure we understand everything that is discussed can only be applied individually and by no means presumes there is some magic formula at work here. There is not.
First, we must realize that being truly creative is rare. There are only so many Michelangelo’s, Leonardo da Vinci’s and Einstein’s. This type of creativity belongs to the rarefied few. So where does that leave you and me? For most of us, creativity will be defined as what is new to us if not necessarily to the world.
Each hour of everyday we discover something new. This may apply only to us and no one else. However, this does not diminish in any way these events. Newness for us may be simply rediscovering the old in a different way. That is often enough to give us a creative insight into a more imaginative world. So as we said in our previous episodes, creativity begins by being observant and habitually conscious of what you are experiencing. It has been said quite simply: “We must always focus on the present to be fully appreciative of the world we know.”
While this statement is easily understood, we also know that it is often impossible to do. However, what we all can do is increase our conscious effort to see the subtlety in the obvious. As we come to appreciate what is in front of us rather than constantly being distracted by other thoughts and events, we begin to recapture our innate creativity.
So begin this very minute to be more observant of the moment and appreciate the significance of the wonders that surround you. No matter what your situation, you can start by being aware of your gift of consciousness.
Next: How do we define creativity within the context our personal experience?
When you talk about creativity you have to deal with the notion that while the word seems easily understood, it often means different things for each of us. In the truest sense creativity usually means to make something that is brand-new, something never seen before. Does this mean that in order to be creative we must have an idea, concept or product that is completely new? For some, the response is yes. And for some this actually happens, they do conceive of something new.
However, what about the rest of us? For the average person the concept of being creative gets lost somewhere between adolescence and adulthood. As we have mentioned before, the need to conform, the need for affirmation from our peers and in our work, all create a type of conformity in our behavior that while not necessarily bad, does not necessarily lead to a creative lifestyle.
So can those of us in this group expect to be artistic? Let’s start with the question is creativity the province of the artist, or can any activity regardless of what it is have a creative aspect? For me, I believe all activity can be imaginative. Creativity is often a state of mind, a willingness to experiment, a willingness to be open to new ideas and new events.
Obviously this is easier said than done. We certainly can understand this idea intellectually, but to grasp its full significance emotionally is very difficult for some of us. A person can be inventive in virtually every endeavor they undertake. As an example, cleaning a house can be a creative experience. Let me give you an example.
I had a recent experience where I was able to watch a professional housecleaner at work. I could not help but notice the vigor and passion with which she approached her work. Not only was she very good at it, she seemed to get great satisfaction from doing it well. Everything she did had a creative aspect to it.
One thing you observed after she was finished; the room she worked on seemed to shine. That shine she left behind was as definitive as the signature of the artist on the completed painting. The same area had been cleaned many times before by others, and even though they did their job well, the result did not have the shine, that something special that was there after she finished. I could not help but consider the question: What was the difference?
The lesson here for me is clear. Virtually everything we do can be artistic. Creativity is not limited to the so-called artist, a person who is skilled in one of the fine arts. Everything that we do in our life, no matter how trivial it may seem to us, can be done with a creative spirit. For reasons stated before, this is a very difficult concept for those who have lost their way to accept.
Why don’t we try this? I would like each of us to consider how resourceful we actually are on a daily basis. What’s spirit do we bring to each of our daily chores? Have we become so habitual in our everyday functions that we are simply going through life as a robot, habitually doing what is necessary?
If so how do we rekindle our natural facility to be creative?
To be continued………..
Brother Giovanni
Next: Creativity for many of us is often about rediscovering the old in a new way.