Creativity - Hannah

Our experience so far in Costa Rica has caused me to think about how we tend to approach our lives. Sometimes people get the idea that they don't want to be like everyone else. They want to be unique. So they rebel. Maybe they dress differently, voice shocking opinions, look down on others, or even delve into illegal activity or drugs. But what they need to realize is that there are many more ways to be good than there are to be bad. We can create a good life that is magnificent, yet completely unique. C.S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, said, "[L]ife is... like a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good."

I believe that one of the ways we express various forms of good is through creativity. And when I'm talking about creativity, I'm looking at the word very broadly. I love a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in which he said, "The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before--colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."

For some reason, this idea has been on my mind lately, especially in terms of family life. I believe that there are endless varieties of good family environments you can create. This experience in Costa Rica is only one of many scenarios we could have chosen to create for our family. It has been amazing and memorable for us--we have snorkeled, visited volcanoes, zip-lined through a rain forest canopy, seen all kinds of wildlife from dolphins and jellyfish to toucans, bats, and crocodiles, been immersed in a new culture and language, and tasted new fruits and foods. We've also struggled together, trying to become familiar with a culture and language foreign to us, but hopefully learned that we can lean on each other and do hard things.

I've seen other families take creative, unique, and good approaches to their family life. Some create wonderful family traditions. Others enjoy time together in dance, travel, cooking, service, camping, music, or sports. Some families create space and time for teaching moments, or for talking and listening to each other. Some play games together. Some families create support systems for struggling family members. All of these are varied expressions of love, and all of these bring into existence something that did not exist before--such as strengthened relationships or laughter.

Sometimes, I've found, it's easy to become passive about family life. It can be easy to let life happen to us, rather than to actively create positive experiences and time for our families. It can be easy to feel like you're always playing catch-up. But even during hard times, when families are struggling with circumstances beyond their control, this creative approach to family life can still be applied.

I'm reminded of a friend of mine who has struggled with health problems since she was a girl. She always wanted a larger family, but due to her fragile health, she could not have more than two children. She struggles with feelings of inadequacy--her own mother was a marathon runner with boundless energy. Yet I've seen my friend create a beautiful family life for her girls and husband. She is completely devoted to her family, and her children will never feel like their mother was too busy for them. Her children, though still young, have become capable and compassionate.

Fiona Givens, co-author of The God Who Weeps, states that "Our lives are more like a canvas on which we paint, than a script we need to learn -- though the illusion of the latter appeals to us by its lower risk." This can also be applied to our family life. Rather than simply following what everyone else is doing with their families, or what was done in our families growing up, we are given a blank canvas on which to create something amazing. Of course we are all limited by the instruments and mediums we have been given--we may have financial limitations, handicaps, health concerns, or family members who make choices contrary to our own desires, or even to what is good. But given the tools we have to work with, we can choose to sit back and see what comes to pass for us, or choose to actively create an incredible family life filled with adventure, compassion, strength, love, and peace. Like any artist, we're bound to make mistakes; but that should never stop us from continuing to participate in the creative process.

We are children of a very creative God, and He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to be agents who act, rather than objects to be acted upon (See 2 Nephi 2:26).

I hope that when we return home after our Costa Rican adventure, we will not become passive but still be able to create new adventures and experiences for our family.