My Genius

Well, it's only my third slice and I'm hooked.  I wish I would've been brave enough to try this sooner.  I guess all things have their own time.  Before I gave in, I always made the excuse that I was too busy this time of year.  Secretly though, it seemed kinda, well... pointless.  Now wait!  Before you kick me to the virtual curb, when I was asked to slice this time around, I'd honestly been thinking on a forgotten lesson...  

A few years ago a very dear friend bought me a spot in a creativity class taught by Canadian artist Kal Barteski. [How cool was that!?!?]  We experimented with all kinds of fun: photos, continuous line drawings, even crayons.  Each lesson offered a video message by Kal to inspire and encourage.  One lesson in particular pointed us to a video clip of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, speaking on TED.  It may be an overly referenced clip, but it's one that's definitely stuck with me. [There's a link below if you'd like to check it out for yourself.]

I must confess I never read her book and honestly only watched the movie because Mr. James Franco tends to be easy on the eyes.  Ahem.  It was a pretty good movie, but what she said in her 20 minute chat was what really rang true.  

Her suggestion was that people cannot be a genius themselves, instead, that they have their own "genius" [as in like a genie] that provides the special sprinkles of "wow" on whatever they're creating.  I found this interesting, but not until the last five minutes or so did she hit upon a very powerful splinter of truth.  Elizabeth found in her studies that long ago, during sacred dances, the watchers would chant "Allah" whenever one of the dancers were truly spectacular.  

To these ancient people, Allah meant a "glimpse of God".  Yes.  Truth.  And for me the truth that God creates and created us in His image tells me how important it must be to create.  Before, I always viewed my time singing, acting, making cards, scrapbooking, journaling, decorating, whatever... to be frivolous.  Just big girl play time.  After making this connection though, I realized that it's so much more than that.  

Creating is a part of who we are, inherited from the one who made us.  Christ himself was raised in a carpenter's house.  Have you ever wondered what he made?  I imagine him fashioning out a raw piece of wood, smoothing his hand over a finished piece, smiling warmly at what he'd created...  

How could I have missed this all those years?  [And shame on me for forgetting it again!]

What's more impacting this time around is the revelation of the fact that God created through words... He spoke.  He didn't think, he didn't whip up a potion.  He spoke.  Words, out of all our creative vessels, hold such power.  I just hope that through my month of slicing I can give this honor of creation the justice it deserves.



Elizabeth Gilbert on Genius