The Value of Your Creativity

One of my most difficult challenges as a teacher is to convince students that their thoughts and ideas have value.  This is particularly hard when part of my job is to point out areas where they can use improvement.  For most of them, showing areas where they can improve is telling them that they're somehow "wrong" to think what they do, and that can make it more difficult for them to trust themselves in the future.  And some of them have done so poorly in some areas that their feelings of inadequacy spill over into other areas--a student who doesn't do well in math, then, can feel bad about his or her ability in writing, even if he or she has much stronger writing skills than math skills.

But all of us have thoughts and feelings that have great value, to ourselves and to other people.  All of us can share that value with the world, as long as we trust ourselves to do so.  Our perspectives are unique, our thoughts are our own, and our unique creativity is something special that definitely can benefit the world--if we only trust ourselves enough to allow our creativity to grow and to shine.

Creativity is much more like a plant than a light bulb.  You can screw a bulb into a lamp, flick a switch and the light reaches its full potential immediately.

Creativity, though, takes time and care and love.  It takes a lot of effort to cultivate it, to nourish it properly, and to create the right conditions for the creativity to flourish.  It also takes patience, for it usually isn't immediately obvious.

The value of our unique thoughts and ideas is in their creativity, and that's something that we all have inside of ourselves, just waiting to be tapped, just waiting to be used to its full potential.  The decision whether to cultivate it or not lies within each of us, and making that decision is possible only when we accept and acknowledge just how valuable we and our thoughts actually are!

I am the one and only me.
I may not think of myself as a creative person, but I know that I have
unique talents and skills to share.
For instance, art may appear on a canvas, or it may appear in a meal
prepared with love. Some hands sculpt clay or play a musical instrument,
and some gently hold the hand of a child. Wisdom can be found in books,
but it can also be found in quiet conversation across the kitchen table.
I am creative in my own unique way.
As I more fully express who I am, I bless others, and blessings
flow back to me. I am creative, productive, and open to divine
inspiration. I give my gifts to the world.

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