Smile Through Me

“I did not write it. It wrote me.” In such words, frequently used by writers, poets and musicians, is captured the secret of creativity. Humans do not create, they respond. Whether it be in words, musical notes, paint strokes, dance steps, skyscrapers or solutions, creativity is always a matter of finding and re-arranging.

O life is sweet, and death a dream
When Thy song flows through me.

These words of a chant by Yogananda remind us that there is a melody ready—and just aching—to push itself through each one of us. Our job is to stand out of the way. Jazz musician Izaak Ibrahim said it: “I am not the player; I am played.” When we allow ourselves to become Its music, beauty enters the world again.

It’s not that the instrument is unimportant. When one allows that secret theme to be expressed through oneself, the product is always unique. Just as each reed flute has its own resonance, each of our bodies, minds, characters and personalities shape the song. Creativity comes in all forms and specialties. It can be in the way you are with animals, the way you make people laugh, the way you bake cookies—anything. I have a friend who possesses a talent for seeing what people need before they do. Her solutions amaze them, for they are always elegantly correct.

“Oh, I’m not creative!” This oft-heard comment is like a cork in a bottle, a plug in a faucet, that merely results in stoppage, for which the world is poorer. We are here to add, not subtract. We cannot help but create. If we are alive, each of us is a song, a smile, a story. Each day awaits the unfoldment of that gift.



Need help developing your creativity? Visit www.myjimballard.com

Please feel free to respond to this entry
by clicking on the comment link below.