Creating In Uncertain Times

Earlier this week I was walking late at night and was left quite breathless by the site of a stunning moon, huge in size and shining like a beacon on everything in its site. How could something so amazing and beautiful be happening at such a tumultuous time in my life?

Just last weekend another devastating hurricane, an election year (that seems like the contemporary version of the civil war) and then the sudden collapse of significant financial institutions. These are important situations that require our attention and some serious soul searching about our lives.

So how does one create during such “uncertain times”?

I believe this is the time for all of us to become more creative than ever. As our old creations destruct we are required to replace them with new and better models for the future. The cycle of creativity involves destruction as we cannot create something new until we have finished the old creation in some capacity; sold the painting, deleted the recording to write a new song, tore up the pages or simply filed them away, cut the old fabric to make a new outfit, tore down the old house to build our dream house and on and on.

Maybe our environmental crisis is here to teach us something about our creativity… create and then destroy or recycle. How many times have you found an old chapter of a book you started and wrote a new one, lines of old poems to create new ones, part of a melody and wrote the song you really wanted.

I believe we have an incredible opportunity to be creative during these difficult times and to find deeper purpose in our lives.

And we can be creative in so many ways, not just our “art” work. Try a creative financial plan, a business that supports the changing environment, inventive ways to deal with people in your life or a unique perspective on the world. We needn’t get caught up in the old quagmire of thinking when we can direct our thoughts to the possibilities of what we can NOW create.

And yes, it might feel uncomfortable, unfamiliar for sure and we might even have to work together to make this happen. We may have to learn new communication skills and ways of dealing with a new set of problems. So what? (As if the human beings before us never coped with these challenges). We are up for the task and we must look to our imagination, intuition, and a strong sense of courage to help us with our own personal and collective mission.

As for the “artists’ in our society it seems to me some of the best art work: music, dance, theater, poetry, paintings, sculpture. books, etc. came out of the struggles of man. Art has always signified the pulse of truth, struggles of mankind, and the heart of our culture. We couldn’t have a better time to be digging deep beneath the surface to find the precious metals of our existence.

This is the time to create, be creative or explore your creativity. Participate in your community and the society at large by offering your creative ideas and solutions. Let’s all act like that beautiful and amazing moon that keeps shinning in the dark.

There is no better time than now.