Over the past few months I have been on a journey to redisover the creative side of my personailty. I have been told we are all creative, but we condition ourselves over the years to be NOT creative. I think this happens because we live in a culture that screams GO BIG OR GO HOME. We learn early in life to doubt our creative abilities if we can't paint a masterpiece or we can't write a bestseller, but creative people have the ability to see the beauty in things others do not. They find inspiration in things others do not.
If we are created in the image of God and if God created everthing we see then somewhere, deep down, we really are all creative beings. So, I search. I search for things that awaken the otherside of my brain. I search for the beauty others do not see and I look for inspiration in the common parts of life. It will be a long time before a blank canvas becomes something beautiful or an empty page becomes something meaningful but I need to start somewhere.
For me, this process starts by learning to see things from a new perspective. I am working hard to see things, everyday things, in new and beautiful ways. As I walk down the street or play with my kids, I strive to see things from a new perspective. I am finding out, as with most things in life, this is not as easy as it sounds. To walk down the street and see beauty in the manhole cover or the way a sidewalk is cracked is not natural for me. It feels a little strange, a little awkward, but incredibly rewarding at the same time. I still have much to learn and much to see. So, I keep walking and I keep looking.
I recently came across this video made by a guy I don't even know, but introduced to me by some new, and highly creative, friends from @rule29. This video started as a simple idea, but the end result moved me and made an impression. For some reason it is incredibly beautiful to me. Thank you @cshimala for getting up every moring and allowing your simple idea to grow into the beautiful thing it turned out to be.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
Enjoy.
Good Morning Chicago - Your daily sunrise for the month of June from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.
