The more your art improves, the less time you’ll have to be creative.
As your art grows and expands and reaches new eyes, you’ll find yourself managing simultaneous creative projects, meeting with pastors or department heads, following up on past-due projects, and staying up all night to meet hard deadlines. You’ll be forced to learn how to provide your own tech support for the hardware and software you use.
And if you don’t cheat something, you’ll unintentionally cheat what got you there in the first place.
Creativity.
You’ll cheat creativity.
There are two avenues God uses to infuse creativity into our lives. He uses the spontaneous moments, and He uses the planned moments.
Many of the artists I meet speak of creativity as something that’s either there or not – that it’s ALL spontaneous. They speak of creativity as something mysterious, rolling into their minds against their will, then leaving just as quickly. That’s spontaneous creativity, and it plays a role in what I do every day.
But for me, planned creativity trumps spontaneous creativity every time.
I have two planned moments where creativity can happen every day. My job is to place myself in both of these environments. God’s job is to speak creativity into my imagination, if He chooses. My role is to take both of these environments seriously. His role is lead the meeting once I’m there.
I TAKE LONG SHOWERS – Many artists and creatives can connect with this environment. Studies have actually been done that indicate how the hot water running down the back of our heads and neck stimulate the creative parts of our brains. Don’t ask me for a reference here, but I’m quite certain I heard that on cable somewhere. My point is this – I take long showers. And I listen to the barrage of ideas that fill my creative spirit. Most of these ideas will never see the light of day. But a few are amazing, and mine to own.
I SPEND ONE HOUR EVERY MORNING AT STARBUCKS – During this season of my life, I drop my youngest off at the local high school, and I pick one of three coffeehouses. I force myself to stay there until 9:00am. I blog, I plan, I write scripts, I read His word, I journal my prayers. During this time, God always speaks some creative concept or notion into my heart.
My point for you is simple. I beg you to find your own creative environment, and PLAN to sit there for a certain time limit. You’ll need to cheat something for this to happen.
Don’t cheat your family.
Don’t cheat your deadlines.
You may need to cheat your sleep, or your day job, or your church involvement, or your standard of living.
But please, please, please…
Don’t cheat creativity.
