Have you ever observed a child draw, paint, or play make- believe? If yes, you know what a delight it is to watch them become enveloped within their imaginations, inventing the curious shapes, stories, and colors that only their wondering minds can create. There is a great freedom and awe for beauty in their creative work that can become easily lost as they grow up and the world swallows their wonder. I think that many of us wish we could reclaim that child-like ability to follow our hidden inspirations but cannot seem to find a practical path to do so. Or we think that because we are not professional artists, we must leave the work of creativity to those who are.
Following the birth of my daughter and during the postpartum period, despite the disarray of my home, the demands of my newborn, and the overall exhaustion that pervaded those weeks, I found myself itching to read. So I picked up a book called The Hidden Art of Homemaking: Creative Ideas for Enriching Everyday Life by Edith Schaeffer, drawn by the title and eager to learn how to enrich my messy life as a new mom. I was surprised to find an answer that was both practical and profound, merging the importance of my natural desire to create with incredibly practical ways of developing a wide array of talents, from refurbishing old furniture, arranging flowers, cooking, writing, drama and more. Overwhelmed by the abundance of ideas, I was inspired to create and experiment with my own talents. Within the pages of this book I found not only permission but encouragement to prioritize my creativity, while tailoring it to my daily life and new vocation as a mother. Edith’s words below struck a chord within me that I believe resonates with others as well.
“People so often look with longing into a daydream future, while ignoring the importance of the present. We are all in danger of thinking, “Someday I shall be fulfilled. Someday I shall have the courage to start another life which will develop my talent”, without ever considering the very practical use of that talent today in a way which will enrich other people’s lives, develop the talent, and express the fact of being a creative creature .” (Schaeffer, p. 29)
While many months have passed since I placed that book back on the shelf, its contents have drawn me to reflect on how to cultivate my creativity. As Edith uncovers, so often we push away the importance of our unique, practical talents. We think, if they cannot be successful in the eyes of the world then they are not worth the trouble. But Edith’s counterargument is simple: if they can but enrich one person, if they can help us foster the creative gifts bestowed on us by the Creator and live more fully as humans, is this not reason enough to pursue them, even in a simple, hidden way?
When have we not been refreshed by pursuing those things that inspire us and uncover our child-like excitement and joy? When we give ourselves the time and space that life allows to pursue our creative interests, we can flourish in our vocations because we have reverenced our humanity in doing so. Our culture shoves beauty to the side in the name of efficiency, yet beauty is that which motivates us to work well and if we do not make time for it, we cannot prosper. St. John Henry Newman writes, “With Christians, a poetical view of things is a duty. We are bid to color all things with hues of faith, to see a divine meaning in every event .” How hopeful a calling is this? To find in the simplest of beauties the author of all Beauty and to enhance our lives with the rich “hues of faith”, a faith that bids us to give back our talents tenfold to our Creator.
So here is my challenge to myself and all readers: to cultivate your individual creativity while inspiring others to do the same. To respond to the call to manifest the beauty and artistry of our Creator through the talents that he has given us and to see our gifts as wellsprings of joy that He has handcrafted for use in our lives today. It is a humble call, but one that sheds light on the holiness of the everyday and the inimitable value of the human person. It is an invitation to find the abundant inspiration of God within the intimate details of our everyday, to seek Him through the gifts He has given us and find Him by returning them back into His open hands.
