Creating for Connection
“Dad, look at what I made!” Six words I’ve heard about six hundred times since quarantine began a little over a month ago. Whether it’s Legos, Play-dough, drawings, paintings, songs, stories, forts, or bouquets of weeds and flowers, my kids are constantly creating. While everyone is a bit different, I suspect our similarities far outweigh our differences. One similarity we share is creativity.
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As human beings, we are automatically creatives. It’s not a title designated for artists alone. We are creatives because we are created in the image of our Father. We are all gifted in making ideas come to life. Think about it: Some of us can look at random ingredients in a pantry and have dinner in 30 minutes; some can look at data and assemble it in a way that communicates with clarity; some can draw house plans; others can make those paper plans reality.
When I watch my kids make things, I see joy and fearless abandon. I think, somewhere within them, they know they are doing what they’re designed to do. My kids are young (9, 7, 5) and they’re fortunate enough to not have the comparison machine of social media yet. They aren’t often plagued with the insecurities and fear of the opinions of others like their old man. They can create without wondering if they are too inadequate to make good things. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only one who struggles with these things, but thankfully I live in community enough to know that isn’t true.
Fundamentally, we create for connection. I’ve heard it said that art doesn’t exist until it is consumed. If I write a song and never play it for anyone, is it anything more than a journal entry? Creativity is meant to be shared with others. In Genesis 1, God created a garden for connection with His children. This details the highest hope for any creative endeavor, that the creator and the consumer could revel in it together.
I’m certainly grateful that our Creator didn’t keep the garden to Himself. I’ve never seen my children make something they are proud of, then throw it away without showing me or Brooke. They anticipate and expect encouragement in their creative expression. They are also accepting of constructive criticism of anything unfinished because they trust their community loves them and are for them.
Of course, we’re just talking about kids’ art, right? If I’m honest, the only differences I can find in my children’s art and mine is monetization, comparison and self-doubt. As an adult, time is money, talent is money, even people’s opinions of me can be money. If I lose sight of the right reasons to create, it becomes about money, comparison, self-doubt, and keeping my art locked up where no one can experience it.
The weapon against the previous paragraph is community. Let’s continue to create for the sake of connection. Connection with God, ourselves and others.
