Finding Joy II, Continuing from Richard G. Scott ‘Finding Joy’
If your life is becoming a bit stale, routine, and uneventful, this suggestion could give you a new spark and verve. Attempt to be creative, not in competition with those who are particularly talented, but just for the joy and happiness it brings. In the later life of Sister Camilla Kimball, when her prophet husband had been called home and she had some lonely hours, she was encouraged to learn to paint with oils. A teacher visited her home to show her how to paint with oils. It was something she had never done before in her life. That effort opened a new series of rewarding experiences in her life. She did not look at a sunset or a cloud or a person’s face or a flower or a tree the same way again. She began to see the nuances of color, form and texture. Not only did she leave a legacy for her children and grandchildren in the works she produced but she found something extremely interesting that gave her lasting joy.
One way to enjoy your life more fully is to try to express it creatively. Select music or dance or dressmaking or flower arranging or any of a multitude of things that a little imagination can identify. Consider the beauties of music. There is such a rich variety of it that is good. I know individuals who lament not having learned how to play the piano in their youth. It takes longer as an adult, but it can be done. I get a great deal of joy out of a limited ability to improvise on the piano. The left hand provides the chord structure and the right melody, often from legal “fake” books. (Such books show the traditional melody line with symbols for the corresponding chords.) When no one is near, I can add to a recording of my piano my own clarinet or saxophone lead for well-known standards from the jazz era. The result is not great, but the effort brings satisfaction. Find out for yourself that you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the fruits of your own creativity.
When you attempt to be creative, you not only have the fascinating benefits that come from your own efforts, but you will also have a capacity to appreciate the more wonderful gifts of those who are truly outstanding in the field you have selected. In my own life, just picking up a watercolor brush and painting for a while is one of the easiest ways to sweep out the cobwebs and let refreshment in.
. . . Attempt to be creative, even if the results are modest. It will help you find more pleasure and joy in life. Creativity can engender a spirit of gratitude for life and for what the Lord has woven into your being. Think of your extraordinary capacities to reason, to create, to remember, to love, to act, and to rejoice in life. Creativity gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, a zest for life that we all need. If you choose wisely, it doesn’t have to absorb a lot of time. Life will become more than just a monotonous routine from one day to another. ~Richard G. Scott (deceased), was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The above is from his book “Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy” (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007) 161-163
