The Art in Vulnerability
I've always struggled with our collective tendency to label some people as a creative (that's a noun), as if it's a simply innate personality type. I firmly believe everyone has creative ability - and I don't mean that everyone has different "types" of creativity. I genuinely mean that every person is able to imagine other worlds, dream of what could be, and strive for an ideal future that is, as of yet, not realized.
In college I loved reading classic literature, wrestling with themes in modern poetry, and even crafting my own portfolio of prose and lyrics. The creative-vs-not labeling, and the self-talk that I wasn't a creative and should stay in my lane, led me away from some of the forms of expression I found most life-giving and encouraging.
It's only in the last year and a half that I've begun to re-explore that lost part of me (and often with a sense of urgency to make up for lost time). I found and read through the many works I'd composed well over a decade ago and the experience was jarring and cathartic. I've also fleshed out notes and outlines for five books and have begun writing the first one!
It was in this journey of rediscovery that I realized how vulnerable my expressions of art make me feel. I'm barely even willing to share my writing with the people closest to me... Something about moving so far from those creative circles and building an image of myself measured only by achievement, accomplishment, and notoriety, makes the prospect of sharing my art with a broader audience absolutely terrifying.
The younger me knew art was always more for me and my Maker than it was for everyone else (but if you could publish and share with everyone else, it's just a cherry on top). But now I have no business being a creative. It's not my lane. It's not my "expertise" or what I'm trained to do.
So it's with all of these hang-ups in mind, that I've decided to begin sharing my poetry and writing with the world. I'm not going to share everything at once - I gotta save something for myself. But I hope to begin using our website and this blog to explore more poetic themes and my own writing!
So here is a poem for you from those college days. I feel it's the safest one to share, because it's literally about nothing at all. Enjoy!
On Nothing At All
On tangents that take me from one end to another
Of a geometric equation
God applied to everything.
And I mean everything.
A mari usque ad mare
And all that is between.
I learned that oceans father gods,
Of earth and below,
Of darkness and darker still.
But now I am told otherwise.
And even on the ocean's surface
I will steady myself.
Give me a place to stand
And I will move the Earth.
If you want to check out more of my poetry as I feel brave enough to share it, check out the Poetry page on our website here.
