The Ability to Create

Published by

Lem Usita

on

September 26, 2011

Anyway can create. Everyone has the ability to create. There is no excuse – no amount of lack of skill or ability can stop you from creating. It takes – IMO – a tremendous amount of humility and in some cases, humiliation to create. There will be someone out there that will criticize your work.

But they can only humiliate you if you let them.

The reason why we don’t create is because the excuses far outweigh the humiliation. We are afraid of it so we make excuses to avoid it, but it just prevents us from creating some of the most beautiful things.

So go out there and create or at least give me an excuse for why you can’t. I won’t hold that against you, but I would definitely celebrate with you when you do create.

* That image is from Hugh Macleod. I think he put it best.

One response to “The Ability to Create”

Mike Friesen

September 26, 2011

I think that creating is the most natural expression of a Christian. God (the creator) created us and the world, then he tells us to pro-create. Then the image of the Holy Spirit is the one who is constantly creating new life in us, therefore to engage with the Holy Spirit is to live in the outpouring of that creative energy.

In the words of Steven Pressfield in his classic book, The War of Art, “Criticism is survival to the artist.” If we are ourselves gifted for creative work, then we are to refine ourselves constantly. Later on he says this about technique, “The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come.”

To truly live, we must create. It is written in the DNA of our very beings. So we struggle through the creation, our creation, and live in the creative energy of God and the world. Why do we create? Because it’s necessary for our existential survival. Because if we don’t create, then we are not doing the work that we were created to do. And, if we don’t do that, it’s a giant smack to the face to every human being, God and ourselves. God can do what God wants. But, he created us in love to give us life. But are we able to participate in the creation of life?

The more you love your art/ calling/ enterprise, the more important its accomplishment to the evolution of your soul, the more you will fear it and the more Resistance you will experience facing it.-Steven Pressfield

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