One of a Kind

I just ran across an excerpt from a 1943 conversation between Martha Graham (pioneer of modern dance and choreography) and Agnes de Mille (another major dancer and choreographer of the 20th century).
At the time, although receiving great critical acclaim, de Mille was doubting her intrinsic creative worth. Graham told her:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

I think the key thing here is "…because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost."

In God's own rich and unmatched creative nature, He has made each of us an absolutely unique individual, with a makeup of bents, abilities, talents, and gifts different than the billions of all other humans He has ever made, or will ever make. And He made us this way for specific purposes and plans known only to Him. We can either sit on these gifts (or bury them in the ground, as the parable goes) and allow them to petrify and fossilize, or we can strive to express them with bold and fearless abandon, leaning on His Holy Spirit to activate and channel them according to His good pleasure.

So get out there, and "keep on marching," keep on pouring out the life He pours into you. Keep on glorifying Him, looking ever forward and never looking back (Luke 9.62, Philippians 3.13-14, Hebrews 11.8-10).

…and keep on writing!

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>>> Unless otherwise attributed, all text and images are Copyright, Bill Brockmeier, 2017. All rights reserved.