Jimmy Beh

Everyone is a Creator

Those who do not engage in the traditional arts might be wary of calling themselves artists. They might perceive creativity as something extraordinary or beyond their capabilities. A calling for the special few who are born with these gifts.

Fortunately, this is not the case.

Creativity is not a rare ability. It is not difficult to access. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright. And it’s for all of us.

Creativity doesn’t exclusively relate to making art. We all engage this act on a daily basis.

To create is to bring something into existence that wasn’t there before. It could be a conversation, the solution to a problem, a note to a friend, the rearrangement of furniture in a room, a new route home to avoid a traffic jam.

What you make does not have to be witnessed, recorded, sold or encased in glass for it to be a work of art. Through the ordinary state of being, we’re already creators in the most profound way….

Rick Rubin; The Creative Act; A Way of Being

This novitiate year (July 2023 to July 2024), I set a personal goal to live more creatively. And, I must say, it is going well. I’ve been writing, surfing, exploring, building new relationships, meditating, praying, and learning new things like ceramics. In the last five months, I have felt myself growing into a more confident and expressive way of living. 

However, one integral part of this that goes (I think assumed, but) unmentioned in Rubin’s wonderful introduction is honesty—something that is not always that easy. To make creativity a living and breathing part of my daily life is to say I honestly value my own approach to life. Whether that is in my lifestyle, my relationships, my work, or my faith. 

While of course we all must learn from family, mentors, teachers, and friends, and need time to experiment with different approaches to our way of being, ultimately, the way we choose to live and create is the way we start to express our response to the question; Who am I? And a well lived life requires us to be open to that response growing and changing over time.

In Mary Olivers poem, When Death Comes, she writes, “I don’t’ want to end up simply having visited this world.”

When we embrace creativity as a fundamental aspect of being human, we are deciding to live as more than just a tourist or a visitor. We are deciding to live as an active participant—as someone who is willing to pay the cover charge of showing our vulnerability to enter the dance of our true self. A true self that is so at home with itself and with God that it can be open to others without being controlled by other people’s opinions. It is like moving from watching others dance, to tapping your foot, to joining the electric slide, to making up your own dance moves.

The goal is not to blend in or stand out. The point is fall in love with being yourself and learning to be confident enough to humbly express that—in all things. From how you brush your teeth to how to accompany someone dying from cancer to the way you write an essay. 

We must let go of living life based on the google search, “best ways to…” and start trusting ourselves to be enough. Each of us has a wealth of inner wisdom that we carry from all our experiences, relationships, and past work—we should not be afraid to listen to it and let it guide us. 

It is of course important to learn best practices and proper technique, but, if we are honest, we know we can obsess over getting it right rather than being present and authentic. 

Greg Boyle writes, “the power is in the loving.” The same could be said about creativity. The power is in the creating not in the outcome. It is normal to want to be good at something. When we give a speech, we want it to move people, when comfort someone in pain we want them to feel better, when we teach a concept to someone, we want them to learn it. But the joy of a creative way of being, the same as the joy of loving, is not the result but the action.

It is like in Kings when Elijah goes up to the mountain to be in the presence of the Lord. The Lord was not in the loud wind, the shattering rocks, the earthquake, or the fire. The Lord was in a gentle whisper passing by. The joy of a creative way of living is gentle, subtle and elusive. But we feel it and know it slowing passing by as we show up to our art of living each day—often in very surprising encounters.

I think the maturest level of this creative path is getting to a point where you understand that we are not just a creator but together we are co-creators.

The real gift of learning to love your uniqueness—your creative way—is that you can then learn to see and appreciate it in others. Once each of us truly knows that we belong and matter just as we truly are, then we must ask the questions—how can I help others experience this and how can I let others deepen my experience? While we are totally unique individuals, we belong to one another and if we forget that, we can slip into a false sense of superiority.

So, this is the purpose of seeing ourselves as a creators—it is to live in a way that takes theses large existential questions (“Who am I, and Who will I be to others?) and turns them into a daily adventure with endless levels of discovery and connection. This path, for most of us, will not lead to fame, notoriety, or serious wealth. But if we live it with vulnerability and commitment, we will be able to turn our whole life into a work of art, or, as St. Francis did, turn our whole life into “a living prayer.”