Written by Margaret Goodwin
I just need a bit of time.
There are the things I have to do. They seem to be constant.
That is, there are always things I have to do.
However, I want a little time for the things I want to do. I never have time just to do the things I want to do. They would not be a waste of time. Doing what I enjoy doing would be a very valuable use of time. I could create some good things, which carry very good energy, because I would be happy and content while creating them.
But I feel that I don’t have time to do the creative things I want to do.
Creative things carry very good energy. They carry the energy that the craftsperson or artist is generating at the time of creation, when they feel totally self-contained, totally focused, totally creative, totally who they are, not what others might try to make of them.
This sense of true selfhood is possible when we create.
When ‘shell-shocked’ soldiers returned from the wars, numbed by their experiences, in order to bring their feelings back to them, to help them feel part of the human race again, they were taught how to make baskets by weaving cane. It was a therapeutic activity, which offered the opportunity to experience being able to create something concrete in the physical world.
Creating gives a feeling of worth to the soul, when this sense of worth has been lost. It is important to do something creative, to make something from nothing.
I love to give art workshops for meditation groups. They wonder at first what they are for. They don’t see the benefit until, deeply immersed in creative thought, deep within the process of making, deep within themselves, they are enjoying creating something that
they had not thought of. They could not have imagined creating this until they became physically involved in the doing.
The essence of the soul is revealed in the creation. Without having the opportunity to create, these people didn’t know themselves or what they could do. The physical interaction with matter showed them something about themselves that could not be revealed in another way.
This is something we may not usually experience in our busy everyday materialistic world, a world in which we do jobs often just to earn a living.
Creating is something the soul needs. It’s much more than just a desire for free time to enjoy a pleasant pastime. The soul needs to find out what is within itself and what talents and suppressed emotions it has.
It is quiet time to be with ourselves with no one intervening in our thoughts and nothing distracting us. We are discovering ourselves, perhaps as we could not otherwise imagine ourselves to be.
Just think of war-hardened soldiers making cane baskets. They had lost so much of their essence in that inhuman hell. Yet, creating a basket could help to give them back to themselves. Of course, this didn’t make everything right but it was a comfort. It helped the wounded soul to find, in that simple activity, some moments of peace.
I have found that discovering my talents helps me discover my worth. Simply spending time with myself helps me appreciate myself. By expressing myself through my own creation, I find I can discover myself through that creation.
It’s reflection time through action.
It’s time well-spent
Would you like to give it a go?
Decide to do something creative now and then instead of what you must do. This will empower you.
It will give you the chance to know yourself and know where you are in your life’s journey.
My motto: Spend time with myself to know myself.
(Margaret Goodwin is a practitioner and teacher of Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga meditation.
Margaret can be contacted at blacktown@au.brahmakumaris.org)
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The Brahma Kumaris in Australia
The Brahma Kumaris have had a presence in Australia since 1975.
There are centres and class locations in the major cities, as well as three Centres for Spiritual
Learning, where courses, classes and retreats are held.
The Brahma Kumaris Australia is a registered charity in the area of education (spiritual).
All programs are offered free of charge as a service to the community. The ongoing operations are
funded through donations from students and the public in the spirit of maintaining its educational
services for the benefit of all in the community.
Meditation online: http://learnmeditationonline.org
www.brahmakumaris.org.au
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