Creativity Born from Adversity

My son has big plans for this old scrap of wood.

My son picked up the scrap of wood pictured above, while he was cutting grass at the church a couple of weeks ago. When I asked my husband what he planned on doing with it, he said that he wanted to use it to make some kind of sign. I smiled. This child is always picking up something that most people would consider trash. He sometimes uses his treasures to create art. He sometimes uses them as some type of prop in a movie he is making. He sees potential when others don’t.

I suppose that’s the innate artist in him. I’ve heard that potters and sculptors sometimes have no idea what they plan on creating when they begin to work, but that the clay, stone or wood takes on a life of its own. I’ve heard the same happens for some painters. They open themselves up to the creativity that lives within them and art and beauty are born.

There have been times in human history when society as a whole, has been incredibly creative. If you have ever known someone who lived during the Great Depression, you know that they saved everything. They figured out ways to use things over and over. They made clothes and quilts out of discards like flour sacks. They also repaired what was broken. They rarely threw anything away.

Skip ahead to 2014. Our landfills are full. We create so much trash. We are a throw away society. We waste food and resources. We don’t value our material blessings. When something gets worn or breaks, we simply toss it and buy new. We don’t give much thought to the child working in a sweat shop halfway around the world for a dollar a day, so we can buy cheap new clothes every season.

We don’t value life as much as we used to either. Look at all of the orphans and children in foster care. Look at all of the animal shelters.

Mother Theresa once said, “Live simply so others may simply live.” That’s really food for thought in our throw away society.

Another point to ponder is, has the fact that it has become so easy to acquire things and throw them away, made us less creative as people? Does abundance stifle creativity? Do we appreciate beauty less? When I see an old handmade quilt,  I see art. There aren’t many people who know how to quilt anymore. It’s very time-consuming, but it also created community.

Women used to gather together and quilt and when their daughters reached a certain age, they were invited to join.

Knitting is enjoying a huge come-back and many celebrities have been seen knitting. Is it because the economy has been bad for so long? Perhaps. Adversity seems to always bring out creativity.

But perhaps, it’s also tied with our innate need to create something beautiful. You are simply not going to find that on a shelf at Wal-Mart. We are created by an incredibly creative God. Just look around you.

So when my son brings home yet another item that most people would consider trash, I just smile. He is honoring his creative side and that’s a good thing. He reminds me that I need to work on honoring mine and by doing that, honoring the creative God who made me.

How about you? How are you doing with your creative side? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂