The Happiness in Being Creative
Creativity brings happiness. Whether it is writing a short story or cooking a new meal that we enjoy experimenting with, both are valuable creative acts. Our hobbies are expressions of ourselves, showcasing our abilities and intellect. They reveal something to us. We would hope to apply this same sense of creative happiness to our work. This is where we, as craftspeople, artists, and hobbyists, have an advantage.
I spoke with an older person (who has since passed) who believed their life had been wasted. I couldn’t help but reflect on why. This person lived in a perpetual state of boredom, from their children to their spouse to their work. While I am not a psychologist and anything I come up with might lack scientific evidence, I theorized this person constantly sought external sources for happiness. However, when I observed my creative friends, I saw that their happiness stemmed not from external factors, but from what they created coming from within themselves. Today, I witness children inventing games, my son and daughter building with Legos, my father designing and constructing a hay lift, my physician wife creatively determining a plan of action for a patient’s health, and my senior married neighbors down the street who paint. All these individuals find happiness in the things they create, the things that come from within.
As writers, we are fortunate to be in such a wonderful position. Creativity is our job. However, we must always remember that thinking about things (like the deceased older person above) and creating things (like the people I mentioned following) are two distinct actions. One involves only thoughts and judgments while looking at the exterior; the other is a tangible extension of ourselves coming from within. It is putting all that we are, or parts of who we are, into practice instead of just theorizing. It is leaving our mark with our hands, minds, and hearts. In this act of interior-to-exterior lies happiness. As writers, we should be the happiest people on earth for it is our inner selves that we are putting on the page.
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