I have come to a newfound revelation that I would love to share with my fellow travelers; our most creative expressions birth from the darkest moments of life. There is an innate sickness in the human spirit that pulls us backward to conform to a blueprint of living. It drives us into conformity and uniformity. It’s in religion, business, college, grammar school, families, and peer groups. When anyone wants to break out of the blueprint of living and explore the blue sky of potential, something or someone always seems to grab us by the collar and jerk us back into status quo.

And that is why our souls are sick.

At the core of a human, there is a desire to create something that is lasting and beautiful. Something of substance that can affect others in a positive way. Some of the world’s most amazing art is set up to inspire others, while some pieces derive from a need to be self-expressive. The soul only needs to be heard. Others create using the power of story, such as to commemorate a historical event or teach future generations a truth. However, most creativity that emerges from the depth of the soul is based on one simple principle: (believe it or not!:))

During seasons of darkness, the soul creates its best art.

While entering into the dark night of the soul, (that night may last a few years) isolation can back us into our little corners of the globe. The human soul was meant to soar, not be isolated. When life implodes, we either silence and retreat or begin a journey of creativity. It is in this place that I believe the God of the universe (the Holy Spirit) speaks into and through our lives. What the Creator creates through us reveals a deepening of the spirit and a sense of a new found passion. Creativity best derives from the darkest of places.

Creativity can aide in healing the one enduring the darkness.

We see or hear great art and think that the ones who created it must be creative elites, and the rest of us are left to glob through life. But that’s not true at all. Life will always offers us questions to answer. During times of brokenness, we must make a choice: Will we enter into the place of pain and darkness to challenge our heart and soul? Or, will we retreat into what we think is our safe place? A safe place is usually a place where nothing but blame, projection, and shallow thoughts reside.

As the scripture says, “deep calls unto deep” and as we go further into the pain of what is has been or is current, creativity can burst forth out of our suffering. Don’t be afraid to try something new when the dark days of rejection, isolation, and brokenness envelop. Make brokenness look beautiful. Light can shine through the shattered pieces, and a mosaic can come forth. If there were no darkness, there would be no need for light to shine.