On being creative

I have an at times overwhelming need to be creative. I often wonder if that is so with all people but in the end I don't think that it is. However, in my case it is something that seasons my life and daily walk through this world. It is a need, a part of me that must be fulfilled at regular intervals or I am not happy and satisfied and who I want to be.

You might ask what I mean when I say that I need to be creative. It is difficult for me to explain I guess but I will give it "the old college try". Just as an aside, what the heck is the old college try? Just wondering. Now back to our regularly scheduled wander through Debbie's brain.

So, what do I mean when I say I need to be creative. Hmmmmmmm. I guess for myself, creativity takes the form of producing something with my own two hands. I knit, scrapbook, write, garden, take photographs, cook, whatever because when I produce something that pleases me and my internal view of my world then it fulfills something within me. That was rambling but it is the best that I can do. Being creative, manipulating earth, paper, fabric, yarn seems to help me order my internal world. Being able to solve the problem of what is a good or great photo and how it is achieved gives me a feeling of contentment. Knitting socks keeps my mind ordered, centered and calm. Digging in the dirt helps me work out aggression and work through issues that are best thought out completely before being committed to paper or spoken about. Get the picture. When I produce something that I have no pattern for but only see in my head I have a feeling of accomplishment that can't be matched.

My creative urges have taken various turns over the years and there are some things that I have tried and abandoned along the path. I cannot draw even though my heart yearns for that skill. My daughter is a very talented artist and so I live vicariously through her. For many years I did endless hours of counted cross stitch. Endless hours. I am not sure when I grew out of that particular hobby but I did. The eyes just can't take it anymore and I have moved on to other things. I also did needlepoint which is almost the same thing and was discarded along my creative path. Will I ever pick them up again? I doubt it but I have learned never to say never. I dabbled briefly with "stamping" but found that it wasn't for me. I have friends that do amazing things with stamps but it just isn't me. Along the way I have stuck my toe in the creative sea at various places and have finally found the areas that allow me to express myself and fulfill my inner creative monster.

I see the world in an odd way which seems to translate well with photography. I need to document my world and do so through scrapbooking and journaling. I knit because I can't live without it. I garden because there is something inside of me, genetically passed down from Grandma and Grandpa Pringle I am sure, that tells me I must do so. To think about not having a garden in some form makes me upset and nervous. We DO NOT WANT THAT I can tell you. If I am upset and nervous then I have to clean out and organize and I might show up at your house to do that. I sew because I like it. Well, I think you get the picture.

Now if this being creative thing would just translate into cleaning my house then life would be pretty darn good (except for that Obama presidency thing). But, so far it hasn't and I have dust elephants that need taming.

Oh well.