The importance of creativity.

Several things have made me ponder this recently. The church recently produced a video on the topic based on a talk by Elder Uchdorf that's simply amazing. If you haven't seen it, then I suggest you take a minuet and use the link below, because the way he talks about creative power is interesting and profoundly beautiful.



It just blows my mind. As we utilize our creative abilities we are exhibiting God-like characteristics. He created the earth. He created us. We are children of the most creative being and therefore, creativity is an encrypted part of who we are.

A friend of mine recently asked, "Why are outward talents so important? I mean aren't the inward talents of humility and charity more important?" As I've thought of this, I think that our outward as well as our inward talents are a result of our creative inclinations. Some people answer their creative impulses by playing the piano, others baking a pie, interior decorating, writing poetry, creating a loving home environment, gardening, building lasting relationships, cross country racing. There are so many different outlets for creativity. I don't know the answer to why they are so important. I definitely think the world probably puts more stock on outward abilities in comparison to moral inward characteristics than it should. But I also think that exploring and developing our creative capabilities is a valid part of what we should be doing with our lives.

Today in Sunday School this idea was developed further. We had a fantastic lesson by my roommate Lisa about the three degrees of glory with a focus on the ability to create. Most members of the church have heard the analogy where the telestial kingdom is likened to the light of the stars, the terrestrial kingdom is likened to the moon, and the celestial kingdom the sun. We reviewed this quickly and then Lisa turned off the lights. Once we were in total darkness she asked us how easily we would be able to create in this atmosphere. If I were writing or drawing or trying to read music it would be impossible to create something worth while. How unfulfilling life in this darkness would be without the ability to act on any creative impulses.

Next she turned on a small flashlight. This was the light of the stars. It was amazing how your eyes focus completely on the only light source in the room. While better than complete darkness, it would still have been very difficult to create anything. Even writing was only possible if you were within a small radius of the light source. A desk lamp represented the moon in the terrestrial kingdom. Once againm slightly better than the flashlight. I could now see the paper in front of me well enough to write, but I couldn't see the board or my those around me very well.

And then the lights came back on and all of the complications that had been present before were irrelevant. I could see everything clearly. It penetrated every part of the room. Everything was visible and I could write and think and look at the faces of people as they commented on the lesson. It was interesting to me how much more readily my brain worked when all the lights were on in the room. The light stimulated and perpetuated ideas and focus. It was the place to learn and grow. A Godly people want to create and so they create an environment where creativity can flourish. This is why it's such a huge part of the celestial kingdom and one of the reasons we're striving to get there.

I love creativity. I love admiring others' work, I love being a part of it myself. But it never really struck me how essential it was to who I am, and who I want to become until very recently. It just makes sense that when you aspire to be like Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven, you want to make the world a more beautiful place on every level. I personally am so grateful to be a part of this effort in my own small way. It gives me hope in the world, that inherently all children of God have this desire. And it makes me excited to work towards a place where creativity is wonderful and powerful and everything I create will reflect the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A confused ramble of morals and guilt...

I think there's something to be said about the ownership of time. For instance, everything from 1989 onward is mine. I was alive. Anything that's happened during those years, I am a part of because I was a living breathing individual on the earth when they happened. It's why people identify with ridiculous trends or movies that were popular when they were younger. They were a part of creating the trend or making the movie popular. It's hard to deny that I had anything to do with the Spice Girls craze in the 90's because I can still sing all the words to Wannabe. It's a part of who I am just as much as I was a part of it's existence.

This applies to historical things as well. I will always feel much more connected to the genocide in Rwanda, 9/11, and the War in Iraq than WWII or the Cold War. It's not that I'm not affected by them, I am. They just aren't tainted with a sense of ownership. We didn't have bombing drills in school. I didn't send friends and loved ones off to war. They happened, they were horrible, but I can't do anything about them now. My job is to find out what can be learned from the experiences of my grandparents and great-grandparents so that we can prevent them from happening again.

But history is slightly different when you're alive. When you're a part of the action. When you don't make your decisions in hindsight with loads of information that was only acquired after the peace treaty was signed. When you're living through it you don't know what to believe or what opinion to have. You're trying to decide what's best for your country without know what the future holds. Or who else might have plans of their own. The uncertainty is rather terrifying, and yet we proceed to live our normal lives, ones that usually don't involve much politics, habitual patterns that won't change the world anytime soon.

It's slightly surreal typing this at my secretarial job where the most traumatic thing that happens is a disgruntled student and I live and die with my English papers when there are people on the other side of the world shooting at each other with RPGs, when the drug cartels run countries of starving people, when gangs riddle neighborhoods that should be full of hope with fear and despair. Why do I get this life while others are stuck in those? And don't I have any ownership? If I'm doing nothing to solve these problems, aren't I a part of them? I just don't know what to do.

It all seems futile and yet I have hope. The Plan of Salvation gives me hope. Knowing that our Father in Heaven loves all of His children and wants them to be happy somehow gives me hope. Because if anyone has the ability and desire to actually do something that will make a difference, it's Him. I have hope that in following His gospel and His counsel, somehow it makes a difference in the scheme of things. That I am contributing to His perfect plan to make the world a better place. And until I graduate and can join peace corp or go on a service mission, these little acts of kindness will have to be sufficient.

Long Stretch of Road

I love driving! Driving around town, taking long road trips- there is something freeing and fulfilling about being in a car and moving towards a destination. I got to take over the last four hours of the drive coming home this weekend. Lisa slept for an hour or two and it was just me and the long stretch of road in front of me. There's this amazing at-one-ness I feel when I'm driving. I see the road and I know I need to mold my actions to its curves. I can feel the car's mechanics alter as I push down on the gas or brake. It's an invigorating companionship. I feel connected with the machine around me as it struggles up each hill and winds through traffic.

Cars are easy to understand. Not like people. There's a certain way you treat them and they always respond the same way. Whatever the hum of the engine and the speedometer is telling me is true. It's freely given and clearly read. I know how I need to act when I'm in the driver's seat. There is no ambiguity.

Driving in the desert reminds me of home more than anything else. Numberless family road trips culminating in the long hours of desert on our way home are doubtless the culprit. There's something still and empty about it. There is a road cut out of nothing. A barren wasteland going off in both directions. But I've never been scared of that feeling, it always means that safety, familiarity, and security are only a short distance away. And so I've learned to embrace those last moments of solitude where it's you and the world before life and the confines of walls enter into the picture again.

Something else I like, particularly about road trips, is that your stuck. Your stuck in a car with either your thoughts or your car-mates, be they family, friends, or strangers. You can't do anything else. You can't run errands and check things off your to-do list. You're forced to build your relationship with whoever you're with. Even if that person is just yourself. I think it's healthy in a revealing sort of way. I often feel raw and bare after I've gotten home from a long drive. But not in the way a rope rubs on the same spot over and over making it bleed, its the way your face feels when you're running as fast as you can against the wind. It makes you feel alive.

In search of dog trainer

I'm not sure if my dog is more out of shape than I am, or just lazy.

I run, nothing ubber long or intense, but it's good and I feel healthy when I do it. So after my cousin's wedding this morning and watching some mindless show on Nickelodeon for about an hour I decided it might be nice to take a run, and hey, I could bring along one of my dogs. Julie. Julie is a lot younger than Pete and wouldn't keel over and die in the middle of my run. To be completely honest my mom asked me to take the dog. I think she was nervous of me running alone. She even asked me not to talk to strangers as I walked out the door. But all was well and I'm still here writing my blog, so no worries.

After walking out the door and smiling at my mother's wonderful compulsive worrying (I'm sure grow up to be just like her someday), I turned on my ipod and started running. The task is slightly more difficult when coupled with guiding/dodging a dog. But I thought it was rather pleasant until about 2 minutes into my run the dog stopped running. I kept on going and yanked at the leash letting Julie know that she couldn't stop to sniff around and she responded. Not 30 seconds later, it happened again. And then as I crossed the street getting ready to round the corner, it happened a third time. This time, instead of allowing me to drag her into a run again, she stood her ground and I was yanked back.

Slightly confused, I did what any dog owner or new parent must learn. I attempted to decipher what the speechless creature wanted. From this telekinetic mind meld which resembles me scrunching my eye brows at a dog while she whimpers and pulls at the leash, but is much more complicated than that, it appeared that Julie wanted to go back the direction we had just come. So I let her pull me in that direction. In fact, I let her pull me all the way back to our front door and inside.

So there you have it. My dad said that Julie missed Pete, they are rarely separated and so it freaked her out. But I also think it's likely that she doesn't get out and exercise much and so she got tired and was too lazy to keep going. Whatever the reason is, I left her at the house and finished up my run solo, coming back to take both dogs for a walk as my cool down and she enjoyed that very much. All in all, it was a fun little adventure. Maybe I'll try it again on Monday and see if she does any better.

It's funny, while writing this little anecdote I was reminded that quirky little things like this story are what I love about home. Things like my dog acting weird, my mom telling me not to talk to strangers even though I'm twenty and have lived in a foreign country, talking to my dad about my plans for the future, finding great clothing deals at savers with my mom, listening to the endless flow of music reverberating from our living room, and having to share a bathroom with boys again. They're all fun little adventures, and yet essentially they are what make home. And I'd be sad if they were gone.

Do do do do do do do

I don't think I ever really understood what the word spring meant until I lived through one here in Provo. Spring is the really short in-between time after it's been slightly chilly and before it gets unbearably hot. Granted, it's getting rather warm up here, but nothing like I'm used to. I spoke with my mother yesterday and she said it was 104 degrees outside. That's what I'm used to in May. May has always been summer weather--until this year.

The canyon, the mountains, even the grassy patches on campus are heavenly. Whenever I see them I just want to lie out, fling my lanky appendages in every direction, and just soak up the sun. Unfortunately I have work and class that keep me confined indoors, but I've recently developed a habit of running, due to the good examples of my roommates, and that ensures that I get out and enjoy each consecutively beautiful day.

Well, that's the word from Provo, I think I'm going to head out for a run now because as I've been saying, today is lovely.

Tracy

The trotting fox

In preparation for Katelyn and my Foxtrot test a couple of guy friends were over at the apartment and we decided to move the couch and practice. What ensued was not the most amazing dancing, due to the fact that my partner was rather tall and therefore, we could only do about 3 basics before we reached a wall, but a ton of fun nonetheless.

That's something I just love about my apartment-mates. We're goofy, and don't really care about hiding it anymore. I think that's one of the greatest parts about post-high school life. Actually getting to be who you really are without catering to what you think people want from you. Now I just live life and make the most of it. Even a tiny little apartment can't stop us from dancing about and making fools of ourselves. Basically, I'm having a grand old time being who I am at twenty years old.

The sun is shining, life is beautiful, and there are scones cooking the oven, I'm happy. And with those thoughts I leave you.

Tracy

Midterm Mania

Well we're now firmly into the month of February and there's no denying that I'm back and established here in Provo. Life is somewhat monotonous: work, classes, eating, studying, and sleeping. But at the same time its full of rich experiences and wonderful people. I love my apartment and I'm taking a lot of very interesting classes. Life is rather hectic at the moment--I have to take two midterms in the next three days and I have a lot more studying to do. But as long as I look at smaller goals it doesn't look quite so overwhelming.

I'm really grateful to be here and to be doing what I'm doing. I miss London terribly, but this is a wonderful place too. I love walking home from work or class right when the setting sun is shining on the mountains. It's beautiful and it reminds me of all the wonderful things my life is made up of. Anyway, that's my update. Hope you all have a great week.

Tracy

Favorites

Favorite things about Paris:
The art galleries! (I saw the Mona Lisa)
The history
The food (I was expecting it to disappoint and it didn’t.)
The gardens at Versailles
Sans Chapelle: it’s my favorite church in Europe (architecturally speaking)

Favorite plays in London:
Ivanov starring Kenneth Brannagh. It was extremely thought provoking and a well acted production.
Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. It seriously changed my life and how I think about Shakespeare. I saw it twice.
War Horse. No stars, just an enchanting play.
Les Miserables was stunning. Not only was it a great musical, but the production I saw was fantastic as well.
I also saw 6 characters in search of an author with Ian McDiarmid– It was a good production, but very VERY disturbing.

Favorite places in London:
Hampstead Heath
The national gallery
Millennium Bridge looking up to St. Paul’s cathedral
Kensington Gardens
The Southbank
The V&A Museum
The tube
Covent Garden
Little Venice

Favorite Places to Eat in London:
Gelato Mio
The Hummingbird Bakery
Nandos
Bella Italia

Favorite Places in the UK:
The lake district
Stourhead
London (obviously)
Cambridge
Porthcuro Beach
Edinburgh
Tintern Abbey

Favorite parts of Salzburg (Michele and I went on holiday there after the semester)
The sound of music sights
The Christmas festivals
The beautiful snow
The amazing Haunsburger I had (and still have no clue what kind of meat was on it)

Favorite Parts about being home:
Mexican food
Egg Nog
Family
Not working at Pier 1 again
Not having to deal with a ridiculous exchange rate

And now I’m back in Provo, and it’s really cold here. But otherwise I think it’ll be a good semester. I’m excited for my Early British Literature Class and I have a great apartment so those are good signs. I'll keep you posted.

Goodbye Europe

Here are my last batch of pics and a virtual tour of the centre.