Faith and Creativity

Faith has provoked my creativity even before I was aware of it.  There are a number of opportunities where my creativity has grown through different ways that I worship and practice my faith.

For instance, being forced to participate in choir at a young age sparked my interest in music.  Choir made me aware of all that goes into a song and the melodies I heard everyday.  Before joining choir I thought there was no way I had any singing ability, but with each practice I began to realize that I was capable of holding a tune.  This was the first time I can remember that I actually accepted the fact that if I believed in myself and practiced hard, I could accomplish anything.  Also, it reminded me that doing activities that I don't always want to partake in may expand my creativity.

Sitting in a traditional Catholic church Sunday after Sunday was not the most enjoyable memory of my childhood.  Even though I don't remember all of the sermons of the priests' or all the lessons from the readings, I do remember my surroundings.  Aside from the stunning stained glass windows, our church was always beautifully decorated with flower arrangements and other fancy embellishments like small waterfall-streams.  I wish I had taken a photograph of one of the gorgeous scenes to help describe its beauty.  I can remember being in awe from all the colors and patterns that adorned the altar every weekend.

Faith continues to expand my creativity on a weekly basis.  The examples I have gathered from this past week are: a passage from the Bible, a Lenten prayer, and gospel music that I enjoy. 

Few will argue the fact that the Bible is the most beautifully written book in our history.  I strive to read at least a chapter of the Bible everyday and I strongly feel that this habit has not only strengthened my faith, but expanded my creativity as well.  I think it has made me a better writer; expanding my vocabulary and helping me to arrange my thoughts more elegantly on the page.  The follow is a passage Psalm 136 that I read last Thursday:

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
            His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
            His love endures forever.
 ⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
            His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
            His love endures forever.
⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,
            His love endures forever.
⁷ who made the great lights—
            His love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to govern the day,
            His love endures forever.
⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
            His love endures forever.

The style is different from anything I have ever read before.  I feel that after reading the beauty of each line, my creativity was enhanced because it displayed a different style of expressing thoughts that I may be able to incorporate in my future writing skills.

Since it is the season of Lent, I try to read as many prayers written about the subject as possible.  This year I decided to give up sweets.  Even though this sacrifice is nothing compared to the one of Jesus Christ, it is difficult for me nonetheless.  So, I need to read prayers to strengthen my faith and to help me to not give in to temptation.  Often the beauty of these prayers sparks my creativity.  Here is one I read by Cesar Chavez last Monday:

Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
So I will know my people's plight.
Free me to pray for others;
For you are present in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life;
So that I can be free at last.
Give me honesty and patience;
So that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration;
So that the Spirit will be alive among us.
Let the Spirit flourish and grow;
So that we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for justice;
For they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us;
So we can change the world.
Amen.

The beautiful language of the prayer is not the only aspect that allows my creativity to grow.  It is the feeling of belief that it plants inside of me.  The words and sentences combine on the page to convert any negative energy I have into positive thoughts.  This frees my mind, body, and soul to believe anything, even that I am creative.

Another way that faith has stretched my creativity this past week is music.  Listening to gospel songs gives me the feeling of empowerment.  One group in particular known as Men of Standard is my favorite and a source of my growing creativity.  The following is one of my favorite songs from them and played in my headphones last Wednesday when I had my iPod Nano on shuffle.  It's called "In Your Will:

My creative juices flow after I listen to gospel music, especially Men of Standard for the same reason as prayers.  It's not just the beautiful melodies and lyrics, but the feeling of I-can-do-anything that it gives me.

Before we were assigned to blog about faith and creativity I never really thought about faith being a source of my creativity.  However, when I took a closer look it wasn't hard to see that many of my worshiping practices caused me to be more creative.  From the elegant chapters in the Bible, to the sophisticated lines of a prayer, to the graceful lyrics of a gospel song I am liberated to be the most creative person that I am capable of being.