Creative Expression, Persistence, and Self-Fulfillment

"There is nothing you can buy, achieve, own, or rent that can fill up that hunger inside for a sense of fulfillment and wonder. But the good news is that creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty."

- Anne Lamott
http://www.sunset.com/travel/anne-lamott-how-to-find-time-00418000067331/
(Thanks PL and HY for this wonderful article).

I have found that there is no substitute for creative expression in feeling fulfilled. Even with love, friends, job, and home, I think nothing quite satiates our human desires to leave a mark on this world (even if we are the only ones who see it) like creative expression. It's the driving force behind my desire to get blogging again.

A friend of mine had a life-altering experience as a counselor at a girls leadership summer camp this summer. She struggled to find a way to incorporate that experience into her everyday life after camp ended. Then she made a decision. Every morning, she reads a passage from texts they used this summer, and looks for ways to apply that text to her day and journals about it at night. It is only hers to see, but it fulfills her need for that expression.

I have another friend who for years has been going back and forth on whether or not he should go to film school to veer his already-successful career in another field, toward his life dream of directing. I recently saw him after much time has passed. He never went to film school. Instead, he remained in his job and remained devoted in his free time about pursuing his passion. He got involved with a local film co-op, made a movie and got some winnings that allowed him to make his next movie, and his next. Now two years later, he is applying to film festivals.

I love these stories, and I'm inspired by them. Creativity, persistence, and making the time to nourish the part of the soul that needs to be expressed creatively.