Create

Goals take time.  Even though I wish I could snap my fingers like Mary Poppins and have everything done within seconds, I do appreciate the time it takes to accomplish a goal.  I learn and I am more grateful for the opportunities I am given to learn because of the time it takes to fulfill a goal.  I have been graciously given resources and time to accomplish happiness in my life, so the question is, what am I going to do with the time that I have been given?  Goals make it worthwhile and I am able to measure what I am doing with my time.  

So, some of my projects as of late are coming together and it is exciting to see the final product!  I am able to say that I am happy with what I have been filling my time with and I am learning so much!  The album cover I designed for a band was just submitted to be printed (Mark Tonelli Quartet).  

 The cover

   The inside cover

The CD design

The tray card

I can not wait to see the final product.  I am slightly nervous.  Even though it looks amazing on my computer screen, I do not feel like it is complete until I see the CD case itself, covered in plastic, ready to sell. 

After that, I have held two sessions of my photography class!  It has been a great success and so much fun!  For the first session, I had 17 people show up. Wow.  I taught everyone how to use the different functions and buttons on their cameras.  It was amazing to see how many people owned DSLRs and had only ever used the automatic setting because they had no idea how to use their camera.  It was so exciting to see people's eyes light up when they had that "aha!" moment and realized they could do so much more with their amazing cameras.  I love photography.  On the second session we learned about composing a landscape photograph and a portrait.  Again, people's eyes lit up and it was thrilling to see them have a renewed excitement in photography. 

The official flyer.  I hope to keep doing these classes!

If you noticed in the post before, my quilt is coming together as well!  I love creating.  I would not be able to live a full life if I could not create.  Here is part of a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about creation.  It is beautiful, and I hope you take the time to read it and appreciate the ability you have within you to create!

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit {children} of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.  The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.  Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. 'There is a great work for the Saints to do,' he said. 'Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.'

...trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. "

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, General Conference, October 2008 (www.lds.org)

So, what are you going to do with the time that you have been given today?  I encourage you to take the time to create something beautiful.  Write a letter, draw a picture, make a meal to warm someone's heart.  Make your bed!  :)  You have it within you to create something beautiful.  As for me, today, I think I'll take a few pictures, write a letter to my sister, and make someone smile.  

Have a wonderful day!