Why creativity is the new spirituality
For millennia the spiritual ideal has been tethered to the ones who give up the most. The ascetics. The renunciates.
They are the ones who give up family, possessions, worldly aspirations. They give up food, drink, common comforts.
They give all to a greater cause, for the benefit of humanity.
You know the great ones by name: Mother Theresa, Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi.
The disservice here is that the gulf is so great we are apt to think of higher levels of spiritual action as beyond us. We are not willing to give up our homes, our careers, our lives . . . .
Yet spiritual action belongs to all of us. Creative action is spiritual action. The creative moment is a spiritual moment. Creativity in any form is an act of great spiritual meaning.
Our creative capacity sets us apart from all other lifeforms on this planet.
Our creative best propelled homo sapiens far beyond its original ecological niche. To the point that we can live virtually anywhere on the planet. To the point where we are on the cusp of tweaking our own evolutionary arc via genetic engineering.
You are a spiritual being! I am a spiritual being. We may not live like the Great Ascetics, but we all live creatively, expressing the divine spark within.
This is emphatically not an artistic approach to spirituality, though that is one subset.
My brother is mostly unartistic . . . yet he is the highest-best kind of artist. He excels at the art of living. He gives of himself wantonly. He connects in a way few do. He generates group involvement in an almost supernatural way. He’s a freewheeling adventure starter.
Creative engagement — spiritual engagement — happens moment to moment.
It’s when we apply our highest-best selves to whatever lies before us. Whether it’s the job at hand, a relationship, the laundry, choosing what to eat or driving peacefully in a distracted world.
How we grapple with optimal solutions to the issues that confront us is the mark of creative engagement.
Each moment is a micro-burst of spiritual energy expressed.
We express more when allowing our soul self into the equation. We express less when we’re harried and hurried and unthinking.
It’s beautiful in its simplicity. Are you seeking creative solutions to the issues before you? Then you are a massively gifted creative spirit. You are unleashing the great spiritual power available to us all.
The true spiritual path belongs to all of us. Indeed, it’s embedded within us. We walk the path by opening up to creative possibilities . . . in each now moment.
Creativity is the new spirituality. Accessible to all. It’s also the old spirituality — the oldest, most ancient form there is.
Amen.
For you —
Evan Griffith
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Click here for (occasional) notes at the intersection of creativity and spirit. Once a month, maybe.
