Devoting myself to living a Creative Life is making time to do things that feed my soul. Kayaking has quickly become a source of fuel for me. It has only been a week since our family purchased a pair of kayaks and we've already paddled through lakes, canals and rivers. Each of us has been training our senses to notice nature and wildlife. Just this past week we have seen amazing animals including a bald eagle and even a mongoose. To notice and observe wildlife we must be calm, quiet and present. It has also required courage from our son to even get into the kayak in the first place. Though, it's fascinating what can happen in just one week. He decided to give into his curiosity and let it drive him instead of allowing fear to cripple him. And now he wants to indulge in this experience on a daily basis! He has even taken a trip around the lake on his own instead of riding along with Seth.

On a canoe trip earlier this summer we saw that the yellow water lilies were beginning to bloom. I remember seeing the lilies in past years and wanting to go back once they had bloomed, but we could never time it just right. We decided to try once more. Earlier this week, as we paddled toward the lilies, I was less than impressed. I had expected the yellow buds to open wide and bloom like the big, lovely water lilies most of us picture. To my disappointment, the flowers were still just buds. As I paddled closer to get a better look I noticed that the flowers were in fact blooming. Though, they didn't look at all like the water lilies I imagined they would. We had made a special trip and paddled through two lakes and a canal to see these flowers and I was let down. I was still curious though, and moved in closer get a better look. Yes, it was blooming and it was beautiful! Perhaps even more beautiful because it was unexpected.

“You have extraordinary treasures hidden within you. Bringing forth those treasures takes work and faith and focus and courage and hours of devotion. We simply do not have time anymore to think so small.”

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

Then this metaphor nestled into my heart as I took in the vibrance of the blooming lily.

I struggle to recognize the beauty and significance of the flowers blooming within myself. They are the blooms that together make up my garden, my personality, my entire being. They are the blooms that make me unique. And they are the blooms that I cannot thrive without. But, I hid them away and I buried them. And year after year I topped them off with shovels full of fear and shame. Faith and curiosity were buried and lost as well. I believed that something was wrong with my garden. My blooms were somehow inferior to the blooms on other lilies and less than what they were meant to be.

They are not!

They were created to be good and there is nothing wrong with them. They are not a mistake and they are not flawed. And now, I am working to find them and to tell them this discovery. It is a true labor to find these treasure blooms and still more work to quiet myself enough to be able to fully recognize their beauty and significance in my life. They are certainly worth the courage it takes to dig them up and bring them out into the light again. In the light they will have all that they need to grow freely. And only in the light can they be used for good.

“This, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

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