Cultivating Creativity

I did an unusual thing yesterday. I typically have limited my music to a particular genre. I don't think I have ever made a point to listen to an entire symphony. But yesterday, I was encouraged to listen to Beethoven's 4th symphony. There are actually several options to do so on Spotify, so I picked one and began to listen. I began to marvel at the music, especially when I realized he didn't really start writing symphonies until he had become more deaf. I wondered, how can one who is growing deaf make music so incredibly beautiful, especially when you are unable to fully hear the notes? It's almost ironic, that one who cannot hear leaves this world with a soundtrack that still stands as some of the all time greatest music.

Music makes mood, it quiets and stirs the heart, it brings joy and lightness. Music is fun and makes you want to move, and yet it can also bring you to tears. These could be tears of joy or sadness, as well as tears of appreciation for hearing the world in such a different manner. I discovered peace as I listened throughout the day, even Gypsy seemed entranced as she quietly lay by my side throughout the afternoon.

Art expressed on a canvas or on a song sheet is a gift. To take a blank page and fill it with color, design, texture or notes is a treasure for those who are able to receive it. And when we get it, can we really comprehend the mind of the one who created it in the first place? Paintings capture our eye, what are we drawn to at first? But what keeps us coming back to the same painting to look again? Why did we miss that detail we now see so clearly?

The ability to express with a paintbrush is beyond any giftedness I would have. But I am able to appreciate the picture. It is so much more than just a picture though, each stroke bears the thought and feeling of the artist. It stands as a forever frozen moment of an individual's view of life. And yet, I am able to step into that moment and feel the heart and soul of the creator. It's a gift like no other, just like the musical mystery I discovered in symphonies of Beethoven.

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow . . ."

James 1:17

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