dailydatewithgod

The creativity that lives within each of us is something we can easily dismiss. We presume that because creativity does not easily manifest itself in our lives in a particular fashion we are ourselves not very creative. We follow a cultural expectation of what is considered creative work product to evaluate our individual level of creativity. Just because there are agreed upon examples of creative manifestations in the world by people who are considered to be the standard for creative, does not mean that all other things are void of creativity. Perhaps we have not yet learned what the amplification of the living creative spirit that lives within us look like. Perhaps we have been so busy going along with the accepted definitions of creativity we forgot how to connect to the fact that we are an extension of the creative force of the universe and could not actually exist without emanating creativity in some form. God invites us to explore how to amplify the creative life force living and breathing in and through us. When we tap into the energy of our hearts and open our eyes we are able to see past how the world has chosen to limit its recognition of creativity amplified. Taking a breath and allow ourselves to sit with the creative life force flowing through us, we can learn to listen for the whispers of what it means for us to be creative. How are we being called upon to be the expression of life? How is who we are already being an amplification of creativity? Listening in the stillness allows us to feel and hear the beat of creativity already being amplified in our hearts. Our minds’ eye can easily look past what is already present in and through us because we have lost sight how to connect with the truth of who we are. The invitation to explore the amplification of creativity in our lives is an invitation to see ourselves as God sees us.

Are we willing to take the time to learn again what it means to resonate with the amplification of creativity expressing itself through our being and see ourselves as God sees us today?

It is no mistake that it is harder to breathe the more constricted we are. Breath requires space. The flow of life calls for freedom. Breath inspires movement. This is true not only in the physical sense. The more we constrict our minds, our feelings, our experiences, in other words, our reality, the more we impede the opportunity to be free. Having latitude with our thinking is about making room for possibility. Latitude in our feeling is allowing for the whole of who we are to be just as we are in the moment. The good news or the bad news, depending on your perspective is with each moment comes change. To allow latitude does not mean we are wishy washy or a relativist. It means we embrace all of what God wants us to experience about being alive. Only making room for whatever based on what we think or belief to be right and safe means we constrict the chance for something to enlighten us and free us from our own internal prisons. Our hearts long for the latitude to explore the depth and strength of our internal courage. When we block off the opportunity to test our latitude, we become cut off from who we can come to know ourselves as. We define ourselves solely by what has already happened and maneuver against what we are capable of becoming. God invites us to step outside our restricted thinking about who we are and the world around us and give ourselves the gift of the latitude of love one step at a time.

Are we willing to discover how courageous we are by giving ourselves some creative latitude in our thinking today?

It is easy to find things that disturb or annoy us. There is an endless list of things I am acutely aware of as not being the way I want them to be. Once in a while, it is my own state of mind. It is hard to be in acceptance of perturbation when upon scouring my mind cannot find a legitimate reason to be mentally disquieted. In my head as long as there is a specific cause of the perturbation then it is okay. With a specific source, I can know that by either changing it or accepting it I can move out of perturbation. I am kerfuffled when there is no source. It does not seem to matter the number of repetitive thoughts about why and even praying about it doesn’t seem to help. In these moments of perturbation, hopefully, without too much time in a mental funk, I recall God’s constant invitation to step out of my mind and into my heart. I place my hand on my heart and take three deep breaths, more depending on how many loops around my brain I have allowed the perturbation to go. I settle into how does being in a state of perturbation feels in my heart. I find myself asking what I need most in this moment of perturbation. Today what came through was just to notice that there were some unknowns but to trust that even amid the disquiet, I am okay. To recall all the evidence I have of being unknown about so many things and how I became aware just as the information was needed. I believe it is called faith. It is spoken about like it is a given or some kind of elevated state. Faith, however, requires great courage and not just in big moments. It requires it even in the subtle moments of perturbation.

Are we willing to let go of our minds’ hold when in a moment of perturbation and answer its call to step into the courage of our hearts today?

We are usually aware of the essential elements that make our lives work. We recognize there are choices we make which create an efficiency in living and ones that do not. But how aware are we of the crucial elements that we take for granted. Our heart beats, our lungs breath, our voice makes sound, and our legs move. The lights come on when we flip the switch, the phone call gets connected, and the car next to us does not crash into us. When we really take a close look so many of the crucial elements of our lives are , we soberly realize we have no control. Yes we can participate in a healthy lifestyle which ideally leads to more breaths, we can keep our eyes open in the event of a possible crash on the road, but at the end of the day we have no control. Thankfully it is not as fatalistic as it sounds. Within any given experience and situation we still maintain one crucial element. The power to choose how we view what happens. Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor puts it best, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” God invites us to recognize where we are lacking in our creativity when it comes to shaping our attitude toward what is happening in our lives. Built within our physical system is a heart which causes us to pause and take a breath. In the moment of pause we can look at how we are forming our attitude about the current situation. It is this crucial element which offers us an empowering way to move through life. It is not always easy, but it is simple.

Are we making creative use of the crucial ability to choose our attitude in the moments of our day today?

Is it because it rolls of the tongue so easily or the fact that I first encountered it when watching the movie, The Three Amigos? My theory is the latter because I found myself laughing which creates an emotional layer to the memory. Then again, maybe I have geeked out on too much neuroplasticity information as of late. Irregardless, it matters little why we are more impacted by certain words and more about how we use them. Given that most people seem to operate from a story somewhere in their lives of not being, having, or doing enough, we all need a word or words which can creatively combat this story. There are contexts in which a feeling or experience of not enough is valid but nothing in the universe of life speaks to the kind of depravity from which we often operate. The universe is constantly growing and expanding. Nature cycles through over and over. It is usually our mind which is narrating the story provided by contextual experience or perhaps an economy driven by creating the illusion of scarcity to drum up more business or interest. Thus, the task of holding within us a word which can face the one two punch of enough must be able to engage our hearts. This requires the 1-2-3 cadence of a dance. Plethora is just discombobulating enough (ha!) to throw the mind off kilt but not enough for us to fall down. So next time you are listening to your mind drone on about how you are not enough, not doing enough, or do not have enough, take a deep breath, tap into your heart and allow the tempo of the word plethora to grant you a second look at right here, right now.

Are you willing to question the story of not enough by pausing to remind yourself that story will continue to drone on in our minds unless we choose to look at what plethora has to offer today?

As aware as we may be, we are so easily unaware of what is really driving us. So much of who we are being at any given moment is based on patterns that were shown to us early in our lives or the general make-up of what it means to be a human being. We are creative in how we explain our propulsions but to hone in on what is really driving us takes effort and patience. Mindfulness is a skill which is to be practiced. Tuning into our hearts as much as it is a doorway into the truth of who we are is not a standard go to. At least, not to most adults. As children we are more easily in touch with the propulsion of our hearts but growing up in a logical leaning environment can wear down the sensibility to it. God is constantly encouraging us to reignite a relationship of awareness to our hearts and thus a deeper awareness into what we can invite to provide a more authentic propulsion to our lives. Each breath is an opportunity to tap into the awareness of our hearts. It sounds too simplistic because we are culturally propelled to look for the more complicated rational. After all, it makes us sound more impressive, doesn’t it? Or does it make us appear more confused. It is not one or the other but, at least in the western world, most propulsion results in a leaning towards the logical at the expense of the heart. We can choose to use the reminder generated through our breath to bring our hearts back into the conversation. The propulsion of our hearts can awaken us to a side of ourselves we may have long shut down. Widening and deepening the connection between our hearts and minds will enable us to build a way of being where our propulsions match the truth of who we are.

Do we believe we possess the courage to accept the invitation of our breaths to check back in to the propulsions stemming from our hearts today?

As we grow and progress in our lives there are designated markers which let us know we have reached the top. The awards, the graduations, the promotions, the accolades, and the prizes. There is a concrete expected way for us to know we have reached the summit, we have made it, we are at the pinnacle. Since we live in a world that readily has available a number of ways of knowing whether or not we have accomplished the goal or deserve to say we have reached the pinnacle we do not often stop to pay attention to all the little pinnacles along the way. How many marathon runners consider it a pinnacle the first time they went for a run or even put on their sneakers? How many actors consider it a pinnacle the time they memorized the lines of their Oscar winning role? More importantly, how many people just stop being and living once they have reached a pinnacle of any kind? Unless the pinnacle is a death certificate, no one. God invites us to look at all the pinnacles we are reaching each day of our lives. How about our first breath of the day? What about the smile we gave someone instead of a frown despite how frustrated we were standing in line? Measuring the pinnacles of our lives only by the outside world’s recognition leaves little if any acknowledgement of the journey especially the journey of the heart. When we use our hearts to open our eyes to the variety of pinnacles we are reaching within one given day, we open up the power of gratitude and see all of life through a new lens. It is so easy to take for granted the idea that taking our first breath today is a pinnacle and the only way we were able to set a course for the next step which will get us to the pinnacles that everyone else is able to see. It is not an either or proposition. It is both and. Allowing our hearts to adjust the lens of our minds to seeing the pinnacles along the way to the understood or accepted summit changes who we are being and makes room to fully embody the experience of reaching the pinnacle everyone else is able to recognize. God calls us to see ourselves as the pinnacle of creation she sees at every moment of life.

Is it possible while we are busy trying to reach the pinnacle of accomplishment according to the world we are clouding the vision of our hearts present to our embodiment of the pinnacle of life today?

There are many groups in which we belong simply because we fit a certain set of characteristics that we had no choice in like gender, familial order, and color of hair. Additionally, we find ourselves in a collective because of the profession we are in, the school we go to, the trip we are on, and more. Being a part of those collectives are somewhat of a default unless of course we chose a particular profession because we wanted to be a part of that group. The instances in which we choose the group or we accept the group’s invitation to join them are the ones that are perhaps a truer representation of who we are. Yet, given that we have no control of the behaviors and actions of others, sometimes what is labeled as a collective action may not be something of which we are aligned. Navigating the need for belonging and the innate desire of our hearts to be the truest expression of ourselves can put us in conflict with ourselves. It requires creativity to navigate how we want to show up and participate in a collective. God invites us to relish the collectives we are a part of as they represent the oneness of the truth of life while still honoring the truth of our expression of the same oneness. It is not easy, but courage means moving through discomfort and fear holding on to the hope and trust in the power of God within us. Simple but not easy. Sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is acknowledge and accept that every person is fumbling with how best to creatively show up with a collective and as the truth of who they are at any moment just as we are.

Are we willing to rely on the courage of our hearts which gives us the power to dance creatively in what it means to be a part of a collective and the truth of who we are today?

We all think we want certainty. For certain it would bring relief to our minds. It would help us to feel less anxious. We could face the world with greater assurance. We would also find ourselves with no need to be present any longer. Our minds would wander into unknown possibilities of what we could be doing instead. Instead of doing or being in the very thing, we were certain was going to happen. The challenge with certainty is the assurance we seek in it robs us of one of the vital elements of what it means to be alive. God encourages us to rest in the amount of certainty provided in everyday life as it comes. God invites us to breathe and live in the assurance of uncertainty. It is what calls us to find the assurance we seek outside ourselves within ourselves. The lack of certainty garners the resources of our hearts that revel in novelty and mystery which can feed our minds the same if we are willing to accept it. The assurance we seek outside is a mirror of what we are not finding within ourselves. Finding a resting place in the heart of who we are to be capable and available to what is calling us to show up as the best version of ourselves in this very moment is what it means to be alive. It does not always make sense. We cannot know for certain how it will turn out. But when we go within our hearts to find the truth and meaning of the very core of who we are we find the assurance that for right here, right now, we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Yes, I know it is not always easy but fretting about how to make things more certain never brought me the kind of peace of mind that taking a moment to pause and connect into my heart to remind me of the beauty of being alive always does if I let it.

Are we willing to discover a way to take a pause from our mind’s sometimes frantic attempt to look for certainty and tap into the well of assurance of what it means to be alive today?

So often choices in life are presented as an either-or. It makes sense given that we live in a universe of duality that the easiest thing would be to pick one or the other. The longer I am around in this game of life the more I see between the choices. I see levels and nuances that exist when making room at least in some way for both. It is as though it is less of either or and more of and. How much do we value the light when we have been in the dark? How much more grateful we are for freedom when we have had to experience imprisonment? It is as though there is a spectrum of reality and depending on what we are focusing on we see the flaws or the features. They both exist simultaneously, so our choice is based on what we want or need to focus on at the moment. It is not about how to be rid of one. Over time a feature can become a flaw and vice versa. It becomes about a creative lens and an awareness of what end of the spectrum is drawing our attention. God invites us to embrace the creativity of our minds in helping us to know where to focus on our attention when it comes to making choices in our lives. Just because we choose to focus on the flaw does not mean we have to rid ourselves of it. Perhaps the reason it is in our awareness is to bring the creative spirit of our hearts to adjust the lens through which we are seeing it. Our hearts may be knocking on the door of our minds to shift our perspective to how we can bring the flaw into the light and see its features.

Are we open to broadening the spectrum of sight the lens of our hearts illuminates for us when we are looking at our flaws today?