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It wants your attention. It wants to be free. <\/em><\/strong>Have you heard it whisper?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n You know what it is. It dances through your dreams. It causes you to be late because you\u2019re mesmerized by a cloud formation that looks exactly like the city in a story you want to write. In a rare moment of silence, it says, Come, follow me, I have a story only you can tell. An image only you can paint.<\/em><\/p>\n It offers impractical ideas, suggesting you compose a poem or a symphony. A ludicrous idea. After all, you\u2019re a busy person. Who has the time for frivolities? Ridiculous. But, is it?<\/p>\n The call of the Creative Self is real. It means that something inside you wants to be born into the world of time and the light of day.<\/p>\n The seeds of inspiration reside within us. Often just beneath the level of awareness. It takes a receptive attitude to invite those seeds into our lives so we can shape them by creative acts into a poem, a story, a drawing, a clay pot.<\/p>\n Children have unfettered access to the messages of their Creative Self. They draw on walls, paint on their toes, and sing at the top of their small lungs, simply for the joy of it.<\/p>\n As we grow, we learn what pleases our parents, teachers, and friends. We want to fit in, to be loved and praised, so we learn to follow the rules. We don\u2019t fingerpaint when we\u2019re supposed to be studying. We don\u2019t eat dessert before the meal. We don\u2019t spend nearly as much time watching clouds drift by.<\/p>\n Even though we learn to ignore its subversive messages, the Creative Self does not disappear. It is always waiting.<\/p>\n When it makes itself known, it can burst out like thunder, impossible to ignore. Or it may whisper, faintly, its voice only discernible in the vague moments between sleep and waking. Don\u2019t be fooled by volume. The faint voice may have more to say.<\/p>\n Humans create biologically. We also create the conditions of our lives, with our choices, our willingness to learn, observe, and investigate what lies beyond our immediate surroundings.<\/p>\n