“LOVE is life force. I believe that the creative spirit is nothing less than love made manifest. I see love as the essential nature of all that supports life. Love is opposed to the death of the dream. Love is opposed to the delimiting of possibilities of experience. When we run on love, when we move and change and build and paint and sing and write and foster the maximal fulfillment of our own lives, as well as the maximal fulfillment of other lives that look to us for help, for protection, or for usable clues to the positive excitement of just being alive, then we make manifest the creative spirit of the universe: a spirit existing within each of us and yet persisting infinitely greater than the ultimate capacities of any one of us…And it seems to me that love, that a serious and tender concern to respect the nature, and the spontaneous purpose of other things, other people, will make manifest a peaceable order among us such that fear, conflict, competition, waste and environmental sacrifice will have no place.” – June Jordan, The Creative Spirit: Children’s Literature, 1977.
How do you sustain your creative spirit, the question goes. I am not sure if the question was meant for me or for the individual raising the question. I answered it as if I were in the quest for living waters of creativity.
Any artist will attest to the reality that creativity, like love, is a life force. When in that sacred zone of intimate connection with “The Higher One,” all seems like life is handed to you on a silver platter.
Much like being in love. Everything is new. Everything seems vibrant. Everything seems effortless. Everything is in synchrony. Everyday is filled with natural joy, an exuberance, unlike any other. No need for distractions in the form of alcohol, street drugs, nor gambling. Just pure, internal joy of one’s heart, whose soul is animated by the Higher Universe.
Fail to cultivate your creativity and your inner wellspring dries up. Your soul withers. No longer a reservoir for renewal, it becomes a drainage, leaking out positivity, inspiration and joyful enthusiasm. Richard Sipe, a psychiatrist to ex-priests, calls it the domination of the Prince of Darkness in one’s life. Some refer to it as “four elves” while few recognize it as their ground zero, coming closer to a sinkhole of depression.
Contrast that to the sacred zone of inspiration, a place where one feels grace, God’s favors to us, imperfect human beings, His beloveds. The zone becomes a sustained rainfall of blessings. One feels overwhelmed and in awe of what is being laid out by the Universe. One calls it a partnership with the Higher Source, as long as one clarifies what one desires and the intentions are clearly “for the love of music,” “for the love of community,” “for the love of seeing another person succeed,” “for the love of one’s heritage and culture,” “for the love of country,” “for the love of an organization’s vision to come forth.” Thoughtfulness abounds within and without. One thinks of how to extend one further, how to push beyond fatigue to serve another human being and in doing so, transforms that physical wear and tear into transmuted inspirations.
Make it first about yourself, and you see yourself drain. You see yourself moving towards frustration, unenergized, a place where you fail to sense any meaning in your life, a zone where you believe your end has come and you serve no purpose in anyone nor your own life.
Amidst noise of urban cities
Are you present to love and joy around you? Even if you are immersed in the hot afternoon peak hour traffic of the San Diego 405 Freeway? Do you choose to see curious opposites of yellow wildflowers and black oil derricks? Do you choose to have conversations with your passengers, eating a delicious meat pie that is moist, balanced in spices, with a very flaky crust from Republique, a neighboring bakery and restaurant?
Or would you curse the peak mid-afternoon traffic, spawning more frustration and releasing stress hormones, in the form of cortisol, which will later damage more internal organs?
Would you instead choose to view your Instagram, only if a passenger, and allow the photos to take you around the world? Like images of national parks, sunsets and babies nurtured in love do it to change your paradigm that all is well in this world?
One day, I read a piece about how the world is coming to an end, with nature in so much imbalance that ocean waters are becoming acidic and bleaching coral reefs.
But, I also read in the same article that ocean scientists are navigating islands and doing interventions to raise pollution-resistant coral reefs to reverse erosion of these seascapes.
Should we celebrate, then the positive efforts of these scientists? Or perhaps the discovery of a water barrels-conveyor system, powered by pumps, to vacuum out the unconsciously disposed of human waste and litter in the oceans?
Should we not vote to install folks with consciences, who will represent the best of us, rather than settling for mediocrity and a shortcut to democratic processes and the rule of law, just because we are angry and frustrated? Should we not dispense with our anger, drain out our bitterness before we go to the polling places? Should we not inquire into what our consciences would choose and for a moment, recall what our ancestors sacrificed for us with their lives, so we have a clear, unencumbered space to vote? Should we not take the time off work and off leisure and care that future representatives are the best folks who are not into dividing us all, but instead unifies us Americans? Should we not embrace all of those around us, of various ethnicities and find their best strengths and consider all, as part of America, the beautiful?
We have a lot to evolve from, a first step is to consider, to move from our angry selves, and to be happy, grown, mature souls. We need for us to fully do the work within, examine our past for patterns and themes of miracles, including scrubbing out the past hurts and replace the anger with love in our hearts.
May we, Americans, succeed to grow our weary, angry, tired, frustrated souls into vibrant, loving and “in love with others” refreshing souls, as we are meant to be, from the day we were born.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 9 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.