If the only prayer you say in your whole life is “thank you”, that would suffice. - Meister Eckhart
At its heart I see creativity as a celebration of ourselves, our lives and our world in all the myriad experiences and possibilities that come from being alive including the difficult. Creativity allows us to marvel at the gift of our lives. Lately I’ve started to see it as a way to express gratitude. And gratitude it turns out can bring all sorts of benefits to our lives.
Recently I read a research article on the proven benefits of focusing on what we are grateful for. Physically it strengthens our immune system, lowers blood pressure, increases energy and vitality and improves the quality of our sleep. Psychologically it improves overall mental health, increases our ability to handle stress and brings us more joy, optimism and life satisfaction. Socially it allows for stronger interpersonal relationships and increases our feeling of interconnectedness as well as making us more forgiving, generous and compassionate.
Gratitude also works in a mysterious spiritual sense opening the doors to support from the universe. The English word gratitude comes from the Latin root grata or gratis meaning a given gift. The word grace, meaning a gift freely given that is unearned, comes from the same root. The ideas and inspirations that flow through creative acts always feel to me like grace.
There are lots of ways to focus on gratitude. Keeping a journal where each day we make a list of a least a few things we are grateful for is a popular one. Letting the people we care about know that we appreciate them is another. We can say thank you when someone holds the door open for us. I always wave a thank you when a car stops for me when I am crossing the street. When I’m out for a walk I often say thank you to the trees or birds and feel more connected to the earth.
Then there is being creative. What in your life would you like to celebrate with gratefulness. You could dance it around the living room, draw it in chalk on the sidewalk, sing it in the shower, write a poem, plant a flower or bake a cake all with the intention of expressing gratitude.
Being grateful opens our heart and spirit so we can actually be more receptive to the creative impulses that are swirling around us. Take a minute right now. Focus on something or someone you are grateful for. Feel yourself open and expand as you do. What do you want to create from this place.