Lovely, Precious Pieces Of China Creativity

Create is one of my favorite words in any form: Creation, creativity, creating, creates.

Inspire. Another favorite, and relating to creativity. Inspiration leads to creativity.Listening to my children at the dinner table the other night, with one eye on the clock in order to assess the earliest moment I could send them to bed, and one eye developing a rapid-fire tic, I felt jittery and anxious as they debated some sort of space gas in stars (the pronunciation and content I cannot recall), latin translation of something (of which I paid no mind), and commentary relating to the fact that the song in Whoville that the Whos sing sounds very much like Viking rowers groaning, "Oh-om, Oh-Om." They then began riffing old Monty Python shows verbatim.

I thought I would rip my hair out.

Later, as I thought about what the two of them were doing, I realized that in their own way, they were creating. We want the process to be orderly and tidy and something we can wrap our understanding around, but it is not.

The creative process is rather more fragile than that because it relates to many things, but for the sake of a non-lenghthy Blog, I want to focus on inspiration.

I listen to a set of tapes called Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn. She likes to teach her listeners and readers that a person must dream in order to achieve. From an early age, she asserts, humans are taught not to dream, which leads to a lack of inspiring and dampens creativity.

There are a number of factors which play into this, but it's enough to say that Ms. Grabhorn urges us to think of the biggest, grandest star we can see in the sky and take a ride on it with our imagination.

Then I would say it is important that the lovely pieces of fertile creativity be nurtured and protected.

Many years ago I was in a friend's home. This friend created breathtaking pieces of china, painting them to dreamy perfection. I marveled at her talent, and reaching for my checkbook, drooled over the amazing assortment of beautiful expressions of a woman's inspiration.

"They're not for sale," she said with a smile.

"Not a single one?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"But why?" I couldn't imagine not selling such wonderful pieces! This was what she did--she had pieces and pieces of beautiful things which lined many areas of her home on display.

"They're just for me," she said, "if I sold them, I would hamper my creativity. And when I die, it's written in my will that every piece must be smashed."

I gulped.

But those words illuminate the power of protecting the fragility and beauty of each person's creativity.

Word for the weekend: Beautify

Currently listening to: Music For Harp, Carol Tatum
Currently reading: WICKED, by Gregory Maguire
Current rage: Dior Addict Lip Fluid and Junior Mints
Today's recipes: Aloe Vera Juice hidden in diet lemon Snapple

Today's Sexy Reader:

I have just finished Archer's Angels and I loved the book. I immediately ordered Catching Calhoun (which is fortunatey still available) and pre-ordered Belonging to Bandera. Too bad that the other books are already out of print. Cowboys by the dozen is really a great series. Greetings from Germany
Daniela

Thank you, Daniela from Germany! It means a lot!

More Blog on Monday!