Pieces of the Past

I find that I am sometimes reluctant to share things that I create, be it writings or photographs. Sometimes I feel like I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said. That the person who might be reading this solely because there is nothing on television, it's pouring rain outside, nobody is home, and they happened to stumble upon this tiny space who, in the midst of reading, rolls his or her eyes because what I am saying is already known. It is just another way of saying something that has probably been said by many others. Surely, there must be a thousand thousand others who have mused about the Oxford English Dictionary or the beauty of Oxford.

But isn't that part of art and creation? Don't all the movies and television shows say the same things over and over, but in different ways? Aren't all the best artists working off of their master's foundations? Copying and mixing it up and add their own zest? Isn't the base something taken from that which is greater than us?

Years ago, when I first finished reading Phantastes by George MacDonald, I was aching for another book just like it because it drew me into my imagination in the best of ways and the best kind of creative books do that. I searched for more of his books that would be just like that. If you fast-forward in time to the twentieth century C.S. Lewis wrote with hints of one of his favourites, George MacDonald, in his tales. I catch many glimpses of MacDonald's imagery and fantastical descriptions in Lewis's writings, which echo what MacDonald did in his tales of journeys including sorrow, learning, and joy.

This is just one example in books, but it is evident everywhere in art, movies, music, and television. Those who create have a mentor-figure. One (or many) that they look up to and seek to build off of, and there is something in it.

It means there are pieces of the ancient beauty in things that are newly created because the past is respected and seen as valuable. We always start from somewhere when we create. Some image or scene. A shade of colour. A feeling. A few words spoken or thought of. And things that left a lasting impressions from those who came before you.

This is why I feel so deeply about creating sentences and thoughts that I write and share because it does matter. All things that we create out of love and caring has a place in God's kingdom, which has already begun. We are living in it already. It can be creating a home, creating a meal, making others feel welcome and loved, creating art, creating music. So, it is important to do what you love, and to share it and work at it with humble patience and love. Even when I am unsure of my pieces, I need to remember that nothing I create is perfect, but one day, it will be perfected as it was meant to be.