By Paul Roberts

Aaaaahhhhh.

That’s the sound of the deep, relaxing exhale I am experiencing this morning, both physically and mentally, now that the show Guys On Ice has closed at the Sixth Street Theater. It’s been a grand experience, and well worth the creative effort, but today I took a deep breath (I’ll probably take several deep breaths) and let it all go. Although I get to carry the memories with me for some time, along with a line or a joke here and there, spoken in a really overdone Wisconsin accent, the concentration and work is done. I took the white binder that holds my script, the script that had been my nearly constant companion for the last six weeks, and put it back on the shelf here in my office. 

While writing in my Sowing Seeds journal this morning, I found myself thinking about the idea that the Creator in the book of Genesis worked for six days and then on the seventh day took a break. Curious. The Creator rested. Apparently, he needed it? And, created in his image, I need it too?

That question came to my mind, almost immediately followed by the memory of another piece of literature on my shelf. A book that looks at the meaning of the phrase “God rested” in the book of Genesis, and interprets the meaning as “God dwelled, lived, stayed” in the middle of his creation. That memory triggered another question into the frontal lobe of my brain, begging for attention. To quote President Jed Bartlet from the series The West Wing, “What’s next?”

What’s next is a couple of Christmas shows at Sixth Street; a marathon of a novel; working and performing with our students (kids and adults); podcasts, blogs, Zoom chats, poetry, creating things with my hands and my heart…

It seems that I am cultivating a life of creativity. Dwelling, living, staying in a place where “creation” is just a normal part of my everyday life. I don’t necessarily have to “go” somewhere to find it. I just live in it. And even though there are times when my effort level increases, when my focus is more intense than at other times, I don’t have to leave this creative space. I live here all the time. I believe that is who I am created to be.

Curiouser and curiouser! Like Alice in Wonderland, I find myself tumbling along from one adventure to the next. Unlike Alice, I hope to stay in this creative, curious wonderland my Creator has made for a good, long time. 

December is almost here, which means 2023 is fast approaching. You are invited to join us at Grow Me a Story as we continue to cultivate creativity and curiosity in the year to come. 

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Are you able to “dwell” and "rest" in your creative space, or is it a place you need to “visit” from time to time? I am “curious” what your experience is like.

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