(I originally wrote this on July 7, 2010)

BEING an Original

Have you ever met another artist whose work you consider better than yours, and they in turn consider your work better than theirs, and you are faced with this connundrum before you where it's as if you are looking in a mirror, and this mirror makes you laugh for a minute at the absurdities of comparison? We can admire and imitate others, but no matter what you do, you are still going to have your own unique twist on it because we are all one of a kind originals ourselves.

We have something in common though. We are all like jars of clay. But the shape of each pot is different and unique and will never be repeated in all of history. God is telling a unique story through the medium of each of our lives. What happens when you start resisting the shape that you are being molded into and being envious of the pot on the wheel on the other side of the studio? You fall apart. You lose focus on yielding yourself to the hands of the Creator, and forget to see the unique gifts that are in your life and you fail to appreciate them.

We don't have to strive to be an original. We come into this world an original. Look at siblings in the same circumstances raised by the same exact parents and they still divurge into their own patterns and ways of reacting to their environments. So, a basic instruction by our parents is necessary, but they have to let go and let you unfold in our own unique way, which may not necessarily follow a linear pattern or strict set of rules. Many artists can have the same art teacher and may be doing the same lesson, but the artworks they create will still have it's own unique flavor to it.

Do not berate yourself over your unique qualities. What you consider your weakness, may be the exact place where God is at work. Berating yourself has nothing to do with humility. It comes from a spirit that is not of God. That is an insult to the one who made you. Call no one Master but God. Even the artists we call 'The Great Masters' are dependent on 'The MASTER' whether they realize this or not.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139:14