We Are All Artists

It's a little odd to have a holiday in the middle of the week. I keep thinking it's the weekend, instead of Wednesday. I hope I remember to go back to work tommorow! We don't have any huge festive plans to celebrate Independence Day. Kirstie and I both want to take advantage of the day off to work on projects around the house. She is in the process of putting up another shelf in the garage. Among other things, I think I will try to tackle my office today--see if I can begin to create some order out of the chaos.

I recently finished reading a book called Living Artfully: Create the Life You Imagine. The following quote struck me:

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is ultimately to be at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be."

-Abraham Maslow

I like this quote because it speaks of listening to our calling. We must listen to our hearts to find out what we are called to, no matter what unique gifts we have. I have thought about this before in terms of vocation--first in seminary when discerning whether or not I was called to become a pastor, and now in my discernment towards becoming a librarian. The peace, the energy, the joy that encircle my journey towards librarianship confirm that I am following the right vocational path path. Maslow's words, however, suggest to me a new way of thinking about vocation--perhaps we each have a number of vocations to which we are called. Instead of thinking about my joy of crafting as a hobby, it is quite different to think about it as an artistry that I am called to do. It's a reminder that we must find time to do the things that we truly love and enjoy--because that, too, is who we were created to be.

I remember in college when one of my campus pastors, Martin Wells, called for students to "Praise God with your mind." As college students we were being called to learn, to challenge ourselves, to ask questions, and to prepare ourselves for future endeavors out in the world. Our highest form of praising God at the time was to embrace our studenthood and make the most out of our collegiate careers.

Prior to reflecting on Maslow's words, I thought of hobbies more as a matter of self-indulgence: things we do because we find enjoyment in them. Now, thinking of such activities in vocational terms, a calling to use our unique gifts in a particular way, it's hard to not see such activities as bigger than ourselves. Instead, they are things we are called to in order to inact and animate our giftedness, and perhaps even further: to share our gifts with others.

I'm reminded of a song from my childhood:

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine

"What one can be, one must be." Who is it that you are called to be? What things bring you joy and peace and enjoyment? Do you find enough time to be who you were created to be? Are you hiding your giftedness under a bushel, or letting your light shine?