I make lots of things: sweaters for dinosaurs, pajamas for ponies, quilts that hang on the wall, and soft sculptures that are too fragile to play with. It’s easy to think all of these things are useless, pointless, a waste of time.
But they’re not.
I make them because I love the process of creating new things and if I’m lucky, when I’m done, I love the things themselves.
Fortunately, I’ve come to realize they don’t have to make me money, make me famous, or change the world. All they have to do is make someone happy. And if that someone is just me, so be it.
Julia Cameron puts it like this:
…we can always make things for love.
Julia Cameron in Finding Water, p. 111
When I find myself with another crazy idea or the itch to start a new project, I quickly realize I am in love with an idea. Turning the idea into reality is an act of love as well.
Apparently, love is what creativity is all about.
Do you wonder if you are wasting your time making “useless” things?
