Make a Declaration

The Student Art Club at the college where I work does a food drive every semester to help stock the local food pantry.  I let my students (I teach psychology) earn bonus points (extra credit) if they bring food for the food drive.  I usually deliver the cans and boxes of food to the art department after every class. I like doing that because it gives me a chance to see what the students are creating.  Very talented young adults study at our college.

Today I ran into a friend who teaches art at the college.  We don’t get to see each other very often and usually have enough time to say hi and bye but today we got to visit.  He asked how my quilting was going and I told him I didn’t have enough time to do much and shared with him all I was doing.  I asked about his art and he said he hadn’t thrown a pot in quite a while and he shared all that he was doing (he also works more with our Honors program students than art students).

It was a little comforting to find another creative person in the same boat.  But when I told him I had promised myself the night before to do some needlework but then didn’t get a chance to, he still said “Good for you”.  I started to say “but I didn’t accomplish my goal” when he added “You made a declaration.”

He went on to say sometimes making a declaration of what you want to do is important even if you don’t follow through on it, especially because of other obligations.  You are telling ourselves, he said, what is important  and making a promise to do it.  The more you say it the more determined you become to do it. And eventually, you do.  It is when you stop declaring a goal that your goal flits away. 

I really like that idea. If what you want to do is important to you, you will make plans to do it and if something gets in the way (and life often does), you will continue to make plans.  Eventually nothing is in your way and time has allowed the creation.  But if you say you want to do something only once, how many people actually remember that and somewhere down the line do it.

So make that declaration to be creative in whatever form you want and continue to repeat it until you are able to find the time.  The time will come eventually and if you keep declaring your intention, it may come sooner than later. 

©2019- Cheryl Fillion