Why You Need a Creative Hobby

I’ve spent a lot of time around young people and I’m always amazed at how excited they are about what they want to be when they grow up! A good percentage of them want to be creators, artists, writers, discoverers etc. 

Maturity has a way of squashing the inner starter. We come to accept the responsibilities of adulthood (yay) but down the road we let those responsibilities take control of us (boo). It’s important as grown ups to always have an outlet for creativity because we're built not only to grow but to be growers.  

The first thing to love about creative hobbies is this: they give immortality to their creator.

My art mentor said he kept a sweater in his closet that his mother knit. He said he felt her presence when he touched it.

I have a recording of my grandpa’s harmonica music he’d recorded years before he passed away. When I play it, it’s like he’s in the room with me.

Creators are legends - a part of them living forever through their creations. 

Painting is my go-to hobby. The method I use has a lengthy process using archival methods with archival materials and while a masterpiece is not guaranteed, longevity certainly is! Each (full size) painting takes between 50-100 hours to complete, one layer at a time. 

One project was especially arduous. I remember struggling with every step from composition to framing and everything in between. It got put on the "I'll-come-back-to-this-one-later" shelf more than once. But I couldn’t ever give it up. I felt drawn to it and knew I had an obligation to finish. 

Finally, the painting was completed. I posted it on my social media and sold a couple prints to friends but it never really got much publicity and I questioned why I felt so driven to paint it.

A couple years later, though, the image reached a struggling acquaintance. She sent me a message telling me it changed her life.

Changed her life? A painting? I don’t share this to brag - there’s actually nothing to brag about. I should mention that this friend’s interpretation of my image was totally off. She didn’t even see what I intended to portray. But that didn’t matter. She saw what she needed to see. While the painting was nothing to most, it was everything to one. 

That’s the other great thing about hobbies. Yes, they can provide therapy and respite from stress. They can help us learn and express our talents. But they also have an ability to touch others.

See if you can name a single creative hobby that can’t somehow serve others. Arranging flowers, quilting, fly-tying, bbq-smoking, gardening. You’re not going to be the only one that benefits. That’s the real reason the reward is so great.

Is there much purpose in being a musician if there's no one to hear you? Creative hobbies support the ideal that we are meant to be connected. Would God inspire me with an image to paint then let me struggle through hours of questions, mess-ups, and re-do’s, just to help one single person?

Actually, I think that’s what He’s all about.

Easy as one, two, three: Find a creative hobby. Find someone to share it with. Make yourself and others happier.

Don't forget the bonus; immortality.