Finding-Ourselves - inspirational writings, thoughts, poems, and quotes by Greg Campisi

The Creative Spirit / Reflection of the Soul / God's Reflection / Welcome to God / Human Escape Artist

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6/15/07
The Creative Spirit
A Masterpiece in Progress

People love music. People love artwork. People love photography. People love movies. Why is that? Why is it we all love these things so much? Do they entertain us? Of course they do, but more importantly, they move us. They excite our emotions and ignite our senses. They are all part of the magic. But I think there is even something deeper at work. I think there is a grander, underlying reason for such joy...

They are all creations. They are all part of someone, part of an inspiration and a dream. It is passion is it’s purest form. A writer loves to write. A chef loves to cook. An artist loves to paint. And they love their creations. Musicians love both playing and hearing their music. Photographers love taking and seeing photos. We love great creations whether we are the creator, or we’re enjoying other people's great creations.

As an artist myself, I can't even begin to explain the love and attachment for something I created. Looking at a painting I made, even if it's not quite right, even if it's not the best I've done, I love it – because I made it. It is one of my many creations. I'll let you in on a secret: The reason so many people get to enjoy all of these masterpieces of human creativity is because the next best thing after creating something is sharing it. There is nothing like the experience of joy you feel when you see someone else enjoying your creation. Every chef loves it when people rave about their entree. Artists want to see their work hanging in a gallery or someone else's house. Toy-makers love to see the joy on children's faces as they play. Writers are thrilled to have people read their stories repeatedly. Having any of these and more accepted and appreciated by the rest of the world just fills the artist with joy.

We love to create. We love sharing our creations. We not only get pleasure from the creation process, we not only get to admire our own creations, but the true joy comes from watching others enjoy our creations. We love doing it, we love watching it, and we love experiencing it. We all love the creative spirit.

Think about it; children love to create. They don't even care what it looks like, they just love to create. Even if you are not an artist in some fashion... think again. We all create, all the time. Maybe you write poetry, maybe you doodle in class, maybe you build something, or maybe you just take great pictures. It doesn't have to be an Ansel Adams to be a creation. Just taking the right photo at the right time makes you an artist. You captured a moment, a spirit, a feeling, and a memory all with a click in the blink of your creative eye.

What else do you love? Make your own list. Movies? Toys? A great meal? The creative process goes into all of it. If it is created by someone who enjoys it, then it is all filled with love. What parents don’t love their child? A child is their creation. They made a life, together, and they help to guide that child all throughout his or her own life. Their greatest joy as parents is seeing their little creation filled with happiness, and bringing happiness to everyone else around them.

Do you love nature? Do you love the beach? Do you love looking up at a starry night sky? They are creations as well, with one difference. These are all made by God. And in case you didn't notice, we are all God’s creations. He is the grand artist, creating, watching, and loving every second of every day, of every year, of every single life. Why? Because the picture a child creates may not be a work of art, but it is absolutely a work of love. And that picture doesn't have to be a masterpiece to be loved. Good and bad, right and wrong, young and old, we are all loved by God, all the time. We are all just part of the grand creation. We are a masterpiece in progress.

Suppose an artist has a child. The child wants to be just like her father. She has the same desire to create great art. She wants people to enjoy her great works, just as they do her father’s. She is not as good as her father, so she watches and learns from him, and she wants to know everything he knows. If she really wishes to be a great artist, he will do everything he can to help her dreams come true, support her, and teach her. Nothing will make him more proud than to see her become even better then he, and for her to produce work loved by more people than his own. She knows how good her father is, and as she learns, and as she sees how bad her work is compared to his, she has fears that she’ll never be as great. With the love and support of her father, and with time and practice, she overcomes her fears and doubts. She aspires to be great, and her love of art and of her father inspires her to keep trying to better herself. She eventually becomes a respected, world-renowned artist.

What do you believe makes that father happier and prouder: creating the actual art, seeing one of one of his own finished pieces of art, seeing it sold and enjoyed by someone else, or seeing his own child learn from him and continue to spread great works of art throughout the world, now and long after he is gone? I believe all these things make him happy, but nothing would bring him more joy than knowing that his child, his creation who learned from him, is continuing to spread the love of art and has her own art loved throughout the world, for millions to enjoy.

What do you think would make God happier? Simply creating something, everything, and walking away from it? Maybe just leaving it there for something else to enjoy, or do you think, like the artist and the child, God would want to teach us to be artists as well? What if we could learn everything from God and carry on his talents for ever? Do you think the father would have taught his daughter just some of his skills, and tell her that's all she gets? Do you think he would tell her that she will never come close to being like him, and that she will never create anything as inspiring as he has?

God’s greatest creation is humanity. We are his legacy, his continuing creation. We continue to create and to share the love of creation. God has bestowed upon us the power of creation, and wants us to grow up to be just like him. We are the Creative Spirit. It is inside our hearts. It is free will, and we are free to create whatever we want. The more we create, the more God loves us. And the better we get at creating, sharing, loving, and enjoying all of life, the prouder of a father he will be. God wants us to grow up and make him proud. He wants us to be better then we think we can be. He wants us to become great creators just like him. When that day comes, God will look down upon us, and his smile will light the heavens and earth, and his tears of joy will wash away all doubts and fears we ever had about being like him.

We are the living creation, always creating. Thank you, great artist in Heaven for letting your creation become the creator. We may be just learning, but we will make you proud.