Have you ever noticed how differently artists see the world? The joy that a musician finds in the sound of raindrops on a tin roof mixed with the breathy tones of the wind as it swirls through tiny spaces is not an inspiration to those of us who simply appreciate music rather than make it. In the hands of a composer, those sounds become the next concerto.
The beauty and bounty that rises from a block of wood when under the talented hands of a wood carver is only recognized by those whose vision sees the heart of that wood block and what it can become. The swirling patterns created by the juxtaposition of water, sand, and creatures as the sea ebbs and flows with the tide take on a life of their own when seen and then portrayed by a painter or photographer.
Those with a creative eye see the world through a lens that is unique to their brand of creativity. Does this infer that the rest of the world is made less for not having that lens? No. Everyone has a story.
Everyone has a unique perspective. Some stories are more easily shared, like the tiered-cake masterpiece created by the baker on the occasion of your wedding. Everyone has a story. And if you don’t happen to be an artist, then translating your internal vision into a shared reality may depend on using someone else’s communication skills.
The ability to communicate thoughts, ideas, and emotions is also an art. If you doubt this, consider whether you ever got completely lost in a book to the point that you stayed up all night reading it because you simply could not wait to know what was going to happen next to those the characters. The ability to engender that reaction in a reader takes craftsmanship and creativity. Writers of this ilk are as rare as those woodcrafters who can carve a grizzly bear out of a tree stump. And are equally deserving of appreciation and adoration.
But what of the rest of us? Is our story any less valued if we lack the ability to craft it into a format that will keep readers up all night? No. Everyone has a story. And every story has value and worth, even though not everyone knows how to communicate their story.
We live in a chaotic world. In this short essay, I am clearly not solving the problems of our complicated world. What I am proposing, however, is to stop, for just a moment. Put yourself in a time-out. Check out of the chaos for a few minutes every day.
Spend that time looking for your unique vision, your unique story. It’s there. Life may have pushed it into a corner in the back of your perception. I promise you, however, that it IS there and needs only a little prompting to come forward.
Don’t be afraid of how you will share your story. You have the ability to see to the heartwood of your story in a way that no one else can. If you choose to share your story, then be joyful. If you choose to keep your story within, then be joyous. There is no wrong choice, except perhaps to not look for your story at all. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?
In her recently published books, Purpose Powered People and Purpose to Author-ity, CaZ (also known as Candy Zulkosky), shares aspects of her own journey and explains how anyone can find and follow their own story, their passion to become a published author.
