Morning Dove

Sunday when I awoke the sunshine was streaming through the blinds of my bedroom window. It was making that distinctive striped pattern of sunlight and shadow that blinds make, its play of light and dark spread across the quilt that still covered me. I wasn’t working today so it was possible to actually be in bed as the sun made its appearance in my room. The window was slightly open for fresh air overnight and I could hear the swimming pool’s fountains splashing into the water outside. Near the window a morning dove emitted its soft ‘cooo’ sound. The air in the room was fresh, the sunlight warming and persistent.

If Walt Disney were alive to design a day, one full of zippity-doo-dahs and bluebirds on your shoulder, he would have given me this morning.

Most of our Sunday was spent at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Although Fort Worth carries the nickname “Cowtown’ the museums of Fort Worth are world famous and the Kimbell Museum houses one of the world’s finest collections.

That in turn caused me to think about the creative potential in each of us. Some of us write blogs, others like my wife capture the world through photography. Some paint, some run and lift weights sculpting the physique, mother’s read creatively to their children, some make music, but everywhere you look, if you look carefully and with a discerning eye, you will see creativity at work in virtually all individuals around you.
All of us carry the potential to create. Many of your friends or family might claim otherwise, declaring “I can’t paint, draw or do anything creative”. But its not true.
God blessed us all with the power to create. The power to create love, art, food, friends, music, words, happiness and even sadness if that is what we want.
All of us are like the flower you have seen on the Discovery Channel, unfolding in time lapse video. We get a chance to show the world what beauty we can lend when each new day begins.

That is an important point in my mind, the idea that we lend our creativity to the world. In doing so we create beauty within the world. Many people in the arts want to be recognized for their contribution. That is only human and not in itself a negative thing, but it misses a larger point.
If we view our creativity in a different way, by understanding that what we have to give is being shared, even if we are not hoisted on to another’s shoulders to be celebrated, then we gain insight into the creative process life intends for us.

It is the wisest of persons that understands his or her contribution is being absorbed and appreciated by others even when the appreciation is not immediately known. I re-introduce you to the idea of a musician inspiring millions while unable to meet them all and learn that he or she has inspired them.
How many of us have discovered an incredible photograph, piece of art, music or literature and had it inspire our lives without a clue as to whom the creator might have been? Still, the creator exists, though they will never experience your praise or satisfaction.

It is enough to create. It is enough to lend and share yourself. Create and move forward, never looking around for applause. Often the applause will circle around and surprise you from the front. Sometimes it will be applause so distant that you never hear it all; and that is alright because the measure of your gift has been fully received.

I got out of bed and stood in the sunshine, observing it splatter across my chest in its distinctive pattern, enjoying its warmth. My wife walked through the room on the way to another room. She smiled at me. She was barefoot, wearing a bright blue Japanese silk robe. She was as pretty as the day I first saw her. Her slight and graceful robed image bounced around in my head happily and energetically even though she never said a word to me as she walked away into another part of the house. It remained long after she left.

She was creating art, and to her credit, I think she knew it.