For the greater part of our lives, we seem to be overtly focused on consumption. We are so preoccupied with fulfilling our basic needs that we regard the having or owning of things as the ends of life itself. We are so obsessed with comfort and security that we tend to become lazy. We don’t give anything back to Nature – the Divine Entity that nourishes and enriches us. Consequently, we feel disconnected from everything and everyone; even from ourselves.

While there’s nothing wrong in consumption per se; it behooves us to note that through this route; we only absorb energy for our individual gratification. Consumption is just one small aspect of a happy life. For long-term fulfilment, we must deepen our connection with the universe. To do that, we must harness and transmit positive energy to the environment. We must create.

Creation is the gifting of our positive energy to the universe. It’s the culmination of our efforts to connect to the One. Through the creation process, we come closer to the origin of the universe; expand our consciousness and experience deep fulfilment. How does a creation take shape? How does the process expand our consciousness?

When we think of creation, we instinctively visualise an activity e.g. painting, writing, dancing, sex etc. Most of us feel that we must engage in a certain type of activity to create something. We forget that these are all different roads that help us to reach the same destination – the origin of the universe – and there are an infinite number of such paths. Through our preferred method, we can access our deepest thoughts and feelings. This allows us to sync our consciousness with the One; harness positive energy and shape our creation.

A poet might tap her pain of emotional abandonment to compose a poignant sonnet. A painter may etch an idyllic hamlet that he’d toured with her family on a childhood vacation. A photographer may recognise her grandmother’s face on a mountain lion’s and strive to capture it for posterity. A couple may explore the vision of a world they’d seen in a dream during a passionate session of love making. Whichever be the mode of expression; what’s common to them all is the process of connecting to the ultimate via one’s inner world of thoughts and feelings.

Upon achieving a connection, the creator will then experience the joy of being in the moment. In this state of presence, the individual will feel every spark of energy exchanged between him and nature. Numerous thoughts, feelings and questions will well up internally. These will not hit a dead brick wall of judgement – causing frustration or anguish. On the contrary, they’ll elicit responses from the universe that will fill him with appreciation, wonderment and a feeling of progress.

The author will recall a single, pivotal utterance by her father before he’d abandoned her to pursue a life with another family. That remark would open a window in her subconsciousness – allowing her to witness a cathartic downpour of her loneliness. This passionate; yet detached observation of her feelings would lead her towards greater self-realization, empathy and possibly; forgiveness for her demon.

The painter will smell the musty odour of the hamlet – a threadbare enclosure where he’d enjoyed a game of catch with his two long-lost siblings. That scent would remind him of the joys of friendship, community and brotherhood – values that had gotten lost over time.

The photographer will remember that time in her teenaged years when her grandmother organized her first tour of an animal preserve and explained the nuances of animal life and upkeep – based on her four decades of experience as the director of the encampment. The sight would enthuse her with belief in a spirit guide and dispel her faithlessness.

The lovers’ hearts will burst with passion and unbridled excitement like those of pioneers’ before they charted their journey to virgin lands. Like their predecessors, the lovers would be filled with boundless optimism for a life without limits. These feelings would then translate to a nurturing and liberal style of parenting and a relationship based on the bedrock of trust, caring and openness.

Irrespective of the emotions and thoughts that are catalysed in the creator– the resulting state of connectedness causes the person to experience deep satisfaction. He’ll then convey this feeling in the form of a creative expression. This could be an object, an idea; even a life. The expression may receive a positive or a negative endorsement. Or, it may be greeted with indifference. Notwithstanding the outcome, the creator’s satisfaction levels will hardly be diluted because he’ll be inundated with the joy of the moment. He will then radiate his positivity to the universe –galvanising others with the power and majesty of his creation.