In Bishop Michael Curry's book, Love Is the Way, there's a chapter entitled "Making Do and Making New" in which he tells stories about his grandmother's kitchen. Her expertise in creating delicious soulful meals for her family are based on three ingredients: tradition, imagination, and God. I don't know if the writing projects I've been working on rely on tradition, but the other two ingredients are essential. 

New perspectives can come in the middle of an ordinary life and an ordinary day. And the changes that result can make a big difference -- one small step at a time.  

There are enough opportunities in this present moment, in this very place, right where you are, to be a good neighbor and friend. 

Creative ideas can merge across disciplines--and this is a story of how one set of thoughts went from mixed media to music to writing and back to mixed media based on music. 

Writing is a way to explore the themes that are important to your life--things that you believe or want to challenge. 

Sometimes a new creative work isn't a new work but is a continuation of a lot of ideas that finally found the right format. That was the case for a novella I wrote, and I'll tell you about the process that led to that result. 

Any of us can use creativity to bring joy, beauty and other qualities into our lives. It doesn't have to have a marketplace component. But some of us may also want to pursue a career in the creative field. This episode focuses on three elements to keep in mind as you consider working as a freelancer. 

One thing your creativity will need is your optimism ... your belief that what you are doing has value, that you can figure it out as you go, and that these creative efforts will lead to a worthy outcome, whatever it may be. In this episode, I talk about optimism and two other qualities that have guided my creative life. 

What area of creativity would you like to pursue? What is calling to you in terms of desire, hope, longing? Aligning your outer activities with your inner creator will help you affirm your creative identity. And that can start -- or continue -- at any time. 

When you want to pursue your creative purpose and make a difference in the world, it's a good idea to read the room. Not every offer of help is helpful. Even so, whatever room you're in may still offer opportunity.