Friday, April 3, 2009

Creativity, a Huge Part in Finding Happiness

I received this article from Beliefnet.com, a site that sends me an inspirational quote and inspirational article every day via email. Today's article was 7 Tips to Finding Happiness. In the article there were a lot of things that most of us do everyday already such as; giving someone a hug, feeling connected in nature, giving of ourselves and so on. I know I am hugging people everyday, especially my children and I constantly feel connected with nature (a little more distant in the winter though) and I am always trying to find ways to give of myself. One of the tips actually hit me in a very good way. The tip was to use your creativity to make a project that touches others.

Reading The Secret (all you negative people can now sigh and say...here we go again..LOL! Goosfraba to you!) has me connecting with some very positive people. And, we are all the same. We all hug which is one thing, but the best is the creativity we share in our projects. The bestest is what we end up doing with these projects. Most of us have that one or two scrapbooks that we call our own but along with those are the scrapbooks for our children. We also make cards to send to our friends, family and to those who need a little pick me up. We make scrapbooks, paper crafts and chipboard albums to give as a gift. We all know that right now with the economy being the way it is, it means more than anything to receive a gift that took creativity and less money. On a personal level, for me it means so much more to receive something that a person put a lot of thought and time into. Something that I will never forget and can cherish for the rest of my life.

I say to my children and my husband all the time that if our house were to burn to the ground, as long as my family, my pets, my scrapbooks and the sentimental gifts that had been given to me throughout the years were ok....than I am happy. I do not need the rest of the material things because they can all be replaced. To me, there is no creativity involved in picking out a new TV, furniture, stereo, etc. It is all a matter of ones taste and how much they have in their wallet.

One thing people need to understand that your creativity doesn't need to be a project or something one can hold in their hands. Creativity can also be held in one's heart. I have run into so many people that I admire for their ability to come up with such awesome ideas. There are those who seriously are not creative at all. Maybe they just have not found their nitch. Some people I think cannot be creative because they tell themselves that they are not. Maybe it is also due to ones stress level and inability to think outside of their box. I have been blessed to have people in my life do some amazing creative things for me, things that I can only hold in my heart...and my mind, hoping it doesn't completely go on me as I get older...LOL! I am hoping that I can be an inspiration as well as people have been to me. Whether it is a card, scrapbook, a surprise visit, a magical moment, creativity is one huge tip to happiness. I thank all of those who have blessed me with their creativity. I thank all of those have inspired me to be creative. Being creative can take a moment of awkwardness, or what seems a bad situation and turn it into something absolutely unforgettable.