“Creativity takes courage–courage to explore one’s deepest self and to let in the depths of the world’s struggles and joys, torments and agony…. Artists need encouragement, the building up of courage that community can lend us. The artist in each of us needs and deserves attention in order to build up the heart.”
~Matthew Fox

Over the weekend I was witness to the work of creativity. The retreat I was privileged to be a part of was filled with women of enormous creativity. Now I am not sure most would describe themselves as such but it is true. Many might laugh at the label I have given. But what I was able to observe was a gathering of people open to the movement of Spirit and what can happen when allowed time and space to enter into a certain invitation.

The invitation? To look at the thresholds of our lives. Thresholds that happen every day….the next breath, the beginning of the day, the choices we make, those we choose to walk away from. Thresholds that happen only a few times….having children or not, career and job transitions we have chosen or choose us, the doors of the different life cycles we all travel through,often with grace, sometimes kicking and screaming. It was big work. Important work. This amazing group of women did it with laughter(much laughter!), some tears, heaping helpings of faith and much creativity. It was a wonder to behold and proved them all as the artists they truly are. Artists. Another label they might choose to describe themselves.

I have always believed we are all artists of one kind or another. It is unfortunate that this name is often reserved for a select group. Each and every day we arise from our beds with a fresh palette of day in which to create the artwork that is our life. Sometimes we paint intricate and subtle brushes of color and detail. Other days we throw big globs of contrasting shades onto a canvas that looks like the modern art that makes the viewer squint in confusion. Still other days we move upon a landscape that is so perfect we know just the place to stand, pose and take our place.

All of this work takes courage as Matthew Fox points out. And it also takes community. A group of people who notice and encourage, those who caution and uplift, those who accompany us on the path. The courage must come from that deep well that is often frightening and filled with unknowns. The blank canvas or the undefined page. It is nothing short of a dance with Mystery with a capital ‘M’.

One of the activities that we engaged in at the retreat was the opportunity to take simple things…tissue paper, glue, paint, a little glitter…..and create a small box that would hold the blessings we needed for the work of crossing thresholds. At first, some were reticent, others knew just what they would do. And yet when the time was over, having been fueled by conversation, instruction, and peels of laughter, each box emerged as different from the other as the one who made it was from their creative partner who worked nearby. Artists all, creating their work, stepping out in courage, surrounded by community.

We are meant to remember we are artists. Every day. Weren’t we, after all, made in the image of the Great Artist? So, what creative act is calling you today? Can you hear your name echoing from some deep and holy place? Listen carefully. Quietly. Courageously.

The world needs you to add to its wonder.