A Truly Creative Mind

man playing with toes, kodak LS753

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.
To him...
a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.
Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - - - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."

-- Pearl Buck

I came across this quote and my mind drifted back to the man in the park we walked by this weekend that was playing the guitar with his toes. He had at least one arm missing...the other tucked underneath his shirt. The music, coupled with his voice was shockingly beautiful. Now I truly have no excuse to not pick mine up and practice. I was in awe of his passion to not feel limited as a musician and of his courage to share his gift.

I also thought of a story I read when I was very young about an artist named Joni. She was paralyzed from the neck down after diving into a shallow end of a pool and breaking her neck. Eventually, she picked up a paint brush with her mouth and from her heart came beautiful paintings.

These and many others are so inspiring to me. They have that "overpowering necessity" the quote speaks of above to "Create, create, create..." regardless of the challenges that face them.

Such *Truly Creative Minds* are they...

Deep within, mine is always speaking to me. My truly creative mind. It makes me feel different, awkward in a crowd at times, perhaps even lonely. I find myself hushing it so that I can feel normal, fit in...blend. This does nothing but oppress me and block my creative path. It is when I see those that tap into their true-ness that I realize it is more than okay not to blend in...but to be COLORFUL in a black and grey room. In fact, it is needed badly by our world. So, I applaud and am motivated by those that continue to be tapped into their truly creative minds and *boldly* share their special gifts.

This time away from a noisy world has helped me to search within and find my voice and I am building the courage to share it.

Off to "create, create, create..."

This post from dear Pixie is helping me do so.