The 12 Days of Creativity… Day 12.
Day 12. Harvest. Station 12 is the final station in the Wheel of Creativity and the conclusion of your creative journey.
I am writing this post on Christmas Day. Around the world, people of all cultures celebrate the birth of a man called Jesus, born to lowly parents in the Middle East some 2,000 years ago. Whether you worship Jesus as the Son of God, honor him as a great prophet, or question his existence, the message of his birth offers us all a powerful promise.
This morning I was thinking of Jesus, not the God but the baby. Conceived out-of-wedlock to a young Jewish girl, nourished at her tender breast as any other child, Jesus was completely dependent at his birth. Jesus’ role in the world might never have reached beyond his village, had he (and others) not recognized the divinity within him.
Despite what has been written (authorized and unauthorized) about him, we cannot know what Jesus thought and felt in the quiet moments. We know him by his actions. What he did with his short life of 33 years changed the course of human history.
The Christmas promise I see today is that we are all here for a purpose! Our reach in the world can be small or great, depending on who we say we are. Certainly our touch has never been more needed.
In Station 12, your creative journey reaches its conclusion. You will make many creative journeys in your lifetime. There are many even in one day. Your relationships, your health, your work in the world, your influence, your pleasure are all your creations. You can make them deliberately or by default. The choice is yours.
Harvest is where you finally reap the fruit of your labor. Here, the Hunger that drew you into the Wheel is finally fulfilled. Not only have you created something that nourishes you, but it can also nourish your world. You have come full circle, and now it’s time to return home.
Your gift to the world is ready to harvest. Don’t neglect it! If an agricultural crop is not harvested, it rots. The creative harvest is no different. In order to complete the creative cycle, you have to make the cut, sever ties, and let the new thing go free.
Sometimes it’s hard to detach, knowing that others must interpret (and misinterpret) your creation in order to make it meaningful. But the task of Station 12 is release. And in the end, you come to see how your original longing has given purpose to your life. It is a very satisfying completion to your journey.
Tips to get the most from Station 12:
- Acknowledge the link between your Hunger and your Harvest.
- Feed yourself first and share the harvest.
- Recognize that another creative cycle is already in motion, but take time to celebrate your achievement.
