Creativity - Creating in Faith

What will you create to make the world more Awesome?  

We were all born to be creative in some form or fashion.  We were created for a purpose and in turn we have that inner drive to create.  However you choose to express it is entirely up to you.  When I was younger growing up there seemed to do two types of people.  Those who did 'proper jobs' where you could earn a living, like in a bank, office or school and the others who were 'Artists', who didn't seem to make any money and were typically shown as messy, spontaneous, reckless, and disordered.  My view of the world was that you became an adult and worked hard doing a job you didn't like and then had children and worked even harder to give them the things that you never had.  It's what my mum and dad did and they were my reference.

Deep inside though I knew I wanted to be different.  I wanted to be among those artists who did what they loved to do, shared their passion, inspire others and who also made a living.  I remember standing on my balcony of our flat as a child, and singing at the top of my lungs a song that I had made up, about the dispair of an eleven year old trying to make it in show business.

My singing sessions were tolerated by my parents and the neighbours, though my little brother always made fun of me.  As I grew up and went to college I started singing with a group of friends, and later went on to do musical theatre, and in my 20's started painting and drawing on a regular basis.  It still didn't seem like something that you could do full time and get paid, and I always kept them as hobbies, feeling the push to do more, express more.  I now try and immerse myself in creativity and whether or not you want to make a living at it there is something about taking part in a creative activity that impacts on your state of mind and  general health and well being.

By allowing yourself to be creative you are able to go on an adventure of the imagination, soaring to new heights of possibility.  We cannot leave it to chance either, there is no way that you could leave your materials on a blank canvas without doing anything come back and find they have created a masterpiece, you have to show up and that's where the miracles happens.   Creativity doesn't happen by accident and neither were we made by chance.  As you go about your day take time to think of one thing that you find really challenging and try and approach it in a more creative way and see how it turns out.  If you want some more encouragement, check out this young man called 'Kid President. You will also find some more really inspiring talks on TED about creativity.
 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him Colossians 1:1

Preparing for Alzheimers

Happy New Year!

How would you prepare for Alzheimer's, is it possible?  I recently saw a video that got me thinking about my life and as we make our way through another year I am sure new challenges and miracles will present themselves.

I have been writing about my journey as a carer to a mother who has dementia and also feelings that arise that I have been dealing with when I did the A-Z challenge.  More recently I put together a video called creative interventions which looked at taking art therapy and remaining creative, which have all contributed in enabling me to look at my role in a positive way.

While on the TED website I came across Alanna Shaikh who talked about her father who has Alzheimer's. I had always kept at the back of my mind the statistics that show dementia running in families and I began to think of ways that I too could avoid it in my later years, the possible implications of my son being put in the same position. 

Alanna mentioned the type of person that her father was before the dementia, he was very caring and loving to others and this magnified as the dementia got worse.  This resonated in me as mums personality became not only outgoing with a great sense of humour, but she was even more caring. 

As I look at my mother I definitely see the warmth in her, and she is still someone you enjoy being around. She cared for her family selflessly and that care and love shines through despite the circumstances.  So as I go through this journey with her I will ensure that I do all that is necessary to keep myself healthy, taking the necessary exercise, keeping my mind active and stimulated but more importantly will also try and be a better person, loving unconditionally, living fearlessly, valuing the relationships of family and friends while treating myself with kindness and compassion and living life to the full and being that blessing that we are all called on to be. 

I'd love to hear what insights you have realised about your lives.  Blessings

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