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Power of The Creative

In this modern world that prays to technology and the almighty dollar, some might ask, “What true value does art have?” My reply to them is, “Plenty”. If that were not the case, we would not see mass-produced prints and souvenirs with Van Gogh’s masterpiece “The Starry Night” perpetually evaporate from store shelves worldwide.

Creatives (artists, musicians, writers, etc.) and their work touch our souls, in ways that many people may not readily see or acknowledge.

Creativity Speaks to Us

Some artists paint simple pretty pictures; others create at the level of grand vision and spectacular works of art that the whole world embraces. Is one any more important than the other? If the little painting rendered by a child touches your heart, it is magnificent in its way as any famous masterpiece that may do the same.

This holds true of course for any creative soul, one who expresses themselves through the arts. At its very root, why is this so important? Creatives do not just show us the deeper essence of life in their work. They also remind us that we are all creative at our very core. Society and the grind tend to stifle that part of us. We can easily forget.

Creativity is about heart and soul. It feeds and inspires us to find more in ourselves. So I would argue, in this modern but ofttimes cold technological world, we need to get in touch with that part ourselves more than ever.

Inspirational quotes from Vincent Van Gogh:

“I don’t know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.”

“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”

“I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”

“Art is to console those who are broken by life.”

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.”

“What is done in love is done well.”

“I can’t change the fact that my paintings don’t sell. But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.”

Love is the Glue

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It’s the main lesson we all came here for – To learn to love better. It’s the force that draws us inexorably together, the glue that will not allow us to give up on each other. It’s our greatest challenge and our biggest source of miracles.

There are many types of love, they were categorized and named by the Ancient Greeks, and as was well demonstrated by my excursion to the Galapagos Islands and an interaction with the tame wildlife there: A Little Love Story

How will you expand your personal realm of love today? Humankind has waxed poetic about love for eons, here are just a few hand picked quotes…

Inspirational Quotes:

“Where there is love there is life.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein

“Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.” ~ Nicholas Sparks

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.” ~ Sophocles

“The more one judges, the less one loves.” ~ Honoré de Balzac

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa

All is a Dream

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Have you asked yourself lately, “What is real?” The natural world is real, nature is real, you are real, but everything you observe around you in society is a humankind-made and enforced matrix.

Lately do you feel like you have entered a nightmare over which you have no control? The matrix of society is built on ever-shifting sand, where individuals at the top of the social hierarchy constantly make up new rules for us.

When I was a child, I had several recurring lucid nightmares that haunted me night after night, until my consciousness realized that I did not have to play the victim. I had the ability to think my way through the problem and control the outcome.

When I came to that realization and experimented with it, the fear-induced dreams ended. Whatever part of my psyche that was susceptible to the fear was overruled by my deep desire and then intention to overcome it.

Why is our awake time in this world any different? We can play victim to the fear spun in this authority and media contrived matrix, or we can decide that we will have intention to manifest a different outcome ourselves.

What will be your dream of life today? Theirs, or yours?

“Time is an illusion.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very
persistent one.” ~ Albert Einstein

“I have realized that the past and future are
real illusions, that they exist in the present,
which is what there is and all there is.”
~ Alan Wilson Watts

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for
the spider is chaos for the fly.”
~ Charles Addams

Little by Little

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When life feels too overwhelming to deal with, “little by little” is an excellent methodology that keeps us moving forward. Also known in motivational circles as “chunking it down”, it’s a method of taking anything that feels insurmountable and down-sizing it to bite-size pieces.

Write down on paper whatever feels too daunting, then divide it into small pieces that feel manageable. Organize the pieces into a plan consisting of steps and stages, then immediately dig in and begin. Accomplishing that crucial first small step gives us enthusiasm and motivation to move on to the next one, then the next, and on it goes until that overwhelming monster is vanquished.

Lately I notice from social media comments that the world’s turmoil is immobilizing people from accomplishing even the simplest of daily tasks. “Little by little” is a way to overcome inertia and reclaim power over our lives.

This sense of empowerment gives us peace of mind, plus the confidence to envision and implement what we want for the future. We can’t let the problems of the world beat us. And, we won’t!

Hope Springs Eternal

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I see people I love deeply disheartened and losing hope. I’m here to tell you, that is why I write. I’m holding a light for the beauty, our love, the joy of life, our strength and determination. I’m here to gather a community of people who believe in goodness, ethics, family, building a fulfilling life, finding their happiness together. That’s my mission.

It quite frankly hurts me to see the loss of heart in humanity. That’s after just one year of constant news of illness, death, lock downs, people losing businesses, etc. It makes me wonder where we will be in another year. The doomsdayers are not holding out much hope for us. They keep moving the line, changing their story, telling us constantly we have no hope unless they give it to us.

Not true! We write our story. We decide what life will be.

Do you feel that you have a mission in this time of tremendous change? It is something to think deeply about. We are seeing a split in society. I think one of the defining lines is who will rise to not only raise the bar for themselves (claim their joy and fulfillment in this life), but also they aspire to help their fellow humankind to reach for theirs. Even small acts of daily kindness and understanding ripple outward and make a big difference. We must help each other not only to have hope, but to find that strength within ourselves to be self-determining and shape our lives with vision and intention.

I love this quote by author Neil Gaiman:

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

Never lose hope. Find the determination in your heart and mind to make your life good, no matter what. Reach for the stars.