Four lessons on creativity from God

Posted on April 4, 2007, by dazzer67, under creativity basics.

If you want to learn how to do something, the best place to start is with someone who has shown their ability. You can’t learn how to copy-edit from someone who has never done it before, although they may have latent ability.

Not wishing to open a debate about belief, atheism or creationism I wanted to take a look at the creative act performed by God as recorded in the opening book and chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. Whether you believe these events to be literal, mythical or apocryphal, it doesn’t matter; there are a few good lessons to be found.

1. God created out of nothing, ex nihilo for all you Latin buffs out there. [Please note, I am not one of them, I simply looked this up in the dictionary, so don’t expect any fancy noun declension.]. Imagination requires nothing tangible too. We can look for sources of inspiration and other prompts but the actual creative spark is from nothing. This is the very essence of being creative; something new.
2. It took God seven days. Ok, six and then one to rest. We need to realise that creativity takes time. We shouldn’t expect the final results straight away. The creative process requires work on our behalf; we need to put in some effort, or perspiration. (This isn’t to say that sometimes creativity leaps upon us and before we know it we have created that complete masterpiece, it does sometimes happen.)
3. God created different things on different days. God laid the foundation first and then the detail work. There is a wonderful symmetry in the Genesis account where day one is linked with day four and so on. Creating a framework for your work can be a great way to set things up. Story outlines, broad brushstrokes and song arrangements, to name three, give a framework to hang your detail.
4. God did take a break. God did the work and then had a rest. Perhaps this is the most important lesson. Tiredness and exhaustion are the natural enemies of creativity, and they are always on the prowl

We can all expect to produce some heavenly creations now

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