I am, by nature, a very creative person. I need to have places I can thrive as an artist and a purpose that allows me to live my creativity. Purpose drives creativity, but what do I do when you have no inspiration or muse? I find it within myself. It is in all of us. It becomes the 'why' we work with our desire to be an artist and express ourselves. If there is a soul, it is truly set free by the creative nature that I am. I feel everything and I want to explore everything. I have always loved learning new things and finding new ways to explore the unknown within me.

Creative people handle change better than people who were taught to just ‘trust the equation.' For me, I like to know just how that equation was created... Almost every time.... I find that the equation has limits. We like to think we can model the real world with equations and facts, but in truth creative people, artists, writers and musicians are doing the same thing without limitations. As artists, we’re not trying to model the real world, we’re sharing our interpretation of how it makes us feel.

"Creative people handle change better than people who were taught to just ‘trust the equation'... "

I work as an electrical engineer. The work is engaging and interesting to say the least. However, it is mentally draining. It requires a close relationship with logic, structure, an ability to plan for contingencies, mathematical skills and the ability to use these skills to develop a purposeful design. The relationship is more like living with a best friend that thinks they know you better than you know yourself and that is where some people get lost as artists. I have a Bachelors Degree in Music. I studied Music composition and piano performance when I was in my twenties. I'm a good composer, but life didn't turn out that way for me (unfortunately). Like so many budding artists, had to accept reality. Eventually, I got a second Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering so I could make a decent living.

Essentially, I have an excellent balance between the logical side of my brain and the emotional part of my brain. However, I have had to learn to know when one should speak and the other should listen. Sometimes, I feel like a late bloomer in life, but I realize it’s this struggle between fact and fiction that makes art so amazing. Great art lives in both halves of the mind. Leonardo Da Vinci lived it everyday and so did many others. It's a balancing act between what is real and what is not real. When people talk about finding balance and becoming a well balanced person, this is exactly what they’re talking about.

"Storytelling is the engine of creation..."

When I was taught to compose music, I didn't just learn about the notes, key signatures, chord changes and so on. I learned how to tell a story. While I was learning to compose, I was learning to write. I took university writing classes to enhance my storytelling skills. And yes... there is structure to every story and in music. The human mind is a pattern seeking machine that craves structure. The need for structure is deeply wired into our brains. It is part of our basic animal instincts. Storytelling is the engine of creation. Everything around us is a story and we are a part of it. Every life we touch, everything we do and every person who touches our life creates a complex woven web of change that can be defined as a journey of the souls. We are not alone, but the experience personalizes our journey. We are the journey, the experience. This is what makes art so personal and not just how we create it, but how we feel when we hear a song, see a painting and read a book. The story is the connection to the soul. It is the foundation that we build ourselves upon as we learn to change and adapt to the world around us.

"It's my responsibility to be the creative person that I was taught to be and then teach others how to explore their own creativity..."

None of this is new... I grew up on this knowledge. I'm blessed to have many great teachers throughout my life. I learned that the greatest teacher to influence my life... is myself. It was up to me to take all of these experiences and use them as I travel on my journey. it is up to me to use what I know to be the best person/artist/engineer/designer/everything that I need to be. When I feel like I'm going through a dry spell or can't seem to find the drive to be the creative person I naturally strive to be, I look at myself. I don't blame others. I don't whine about it. It's my responsibility to be the creative person that I was taught to be and then teach others how to explore their own creativity. My mentors and teachers expect me to use what I learned to grow and to evolve. Knowledge and understanding is a gift. Being creative and using that knowledge is our divine purpose, not just as artists, but as human beings.

Find your creative soul… Find your heart of hearts…

Enjoy! and Live a Creative Life!