I am unique

I've been up and at 'em for awhile this morning. I glanced at the clock when I awoke, thought I read, 6:15 and leapt out of bed. Unfortunately, without my glasses on I often mistake the '6' for a '5'. It was actually 5:15.

Outside my office window, dawn begins to filter across a cloud strewn sky.Birds chatter outside while inside, the dogs sleep by the door, eagerly awaiting breakfast. I remind them that it's too early to eat, but they don't seem to know what I mean. I'm up. It's time for breakfast!

Some days, my mind goes blank as I think about what to write. It's the 'thinking' that makes it difficult. When I trust in the process, let my fingers fly across the keyboard, the words streaming without thought, ideas emerge and the writing happens. When I consciously control the words too early in the writing process, the ideas block, become stilted.

It's important to let the words flow without censorship until an idea forms that has teeth, grit, substance, traction -- whatever you want to call it.

Like living in the moment. I have to trust in this moment as the one moment I have to live my life without constraint. I have to trust that this moment is my best moment yet. I can't 'make' it happen. I have to trust that it will happen.

Yesterday, I received an email that asked, "What did you do with your mind yesterday?"

Um... I'll have to think about it.

On second thought, it's a good question.

What did I do with this precious gift? Did I use it to simply process information, think about the past and how I could change it? Or, did I give into the irreistible urge to create?

Ideas are infinite in number. There are 3 billion base pairs in the human genome and 6 billion people on planet earth. That's a lot of capacity. A lot of potential for unique human beings with uniquely different thinking.

The possibilities for creative output are staggering. And yet, too often, we buy into the idea that creativity is the purvue of a few naturally (or unnaturally) talented artistic types, or that the best use of our brain power is to do our job and make money -- and to not expect too much of ourselves or our environments.

I believe the creative urge is a natural force, a force of nature. I believe we are born to be creative and lose touch with our creative natures as we walk the tightrope from childhood to adulthood. In the process we jettison our childlike wonder of the world and step into our adult belief that the world has only so many options for creative expression -- and our unique contributions don't count.

Every creative expression counts.

In a world of infinite and unique genetic possibilities, we need to celebrate individual uniqueness. We need to explore our unique talents.

There's no one in the world like me. And no one in the world like you.

What an amazing gift we are to a universe of infinite possibilities.

The question is: Are you settling for getting the job done because you are using your mind to process information as you focus on getting the job done? Are you letting go of your creative nature and denying yourself your birthright of being uniquely you?