Monthly Archives: June 2005

Count Your Blessings #9 – Creativity

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Stone Wall

I love being creative.

I know that for some people it can be both a blessing and a curse. They get the urge to create something and it overtakes and overpowers them. I’m not one of those people thankfully. I love being creative, but my creative urges are easily pleased.

As I grow older the thing I have come to realise is that being creative is definitely a state of mind.

There are times when my job connects with my creativity and I love it. There is no logic to when this is though.

There are times when simple house jobs connect too. If only this could be all of the time.

There are times when writing a blog is easy because the creativity just flows.

There are times when my creative side is pricked by doing some exercise. Unfortunately for my waistline this isn’t that often.

There are other times when I go out for a walk with a camera and my whole being changes. I feel like a child capturing a butterfly and gazing at the vastness of all creation.

Sue and I try to take a couple of days each year when we get away and spend time in quiet. Sometimes this is to an organised retreat, sometimes it is with some like-minded friends. in these times God pricks my creativity as a way of deepening our relationship.

For me that is what creativity is all about, it’s about deepening relationships. My relationship with myself, my relationship with God, my relationship with Sue, my relationship with Jonathan and Emily, my relationship with all humanity.

Count Your Blessings #8 – Paddling pools

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Water

Today is a rare day in my particular part of the world. It’s sunny and it’s warm. Lancashire is not renowned for either of these two things, though partly it’s an impression we like to give in order to keep the numbers down.

Because this weather is generally unexpected we all react to it by going a little crazy. We also feel it is necessary to fit everything into a single day that people in warmer climates know they can spread across the whole summer.

In warmer climates people have water fixed into their gardens as a permanent feature. For those of us in Lancashire spending money on such extravagance seems like a pointless activity . We have a much better more cost effective mechanism for enjoying water in the sun, we use a paddling pool. In our case a paddling pool is simply an inflatable puddle, not much bigger than the average car tyre. The great thing is that size doesn’t matter; it still manages to delight half a dozen primary school children.>

As a parent it is a real blessing to see your children having fun, being children. Seeing a face light up when it’s been covered by a splash of water gives a completely different perspective on the world. Hearing children revelling in doing the same thing over and over again makes us adults want to regain that type of joy.

Count Your Blessings #7 – Freedom to be alone

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Local bench

My life is busy and full and active. I have a family. I have a job which requires me to communicate with people all day every day. I am not an overly gregarious person so can find all of this interaction quite waring. So it’s a real blessing to be in a relationship which allows me the freedom to be alone.

Times of solitude bring refreshment and renewal. If I am feeling wounded or tired; I’m not likely to want to go out and party. I’m far more likely to want a quite place. For me the garden is often this place, but not always.

Some of my best times of solitude are spent out walking. Most mornings I try to take a walk in the local woods, normally solitary, apart from the odd dog walker or two.

I can start a time of solitude in many different ways, angry, drained, hurt, tired, but nearly always finish feeling calmer and uplifted.

As a Christian I regularly meet with God in those times. I don’t necessarily start thinking that I need to get with God, it’s what happens.