Episode 61

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Published on:

21st Apr 2025

Believing I am a Creator

Ghia – Think you aren’t creative? Think again. You are a daughter of the most creative being in the Universe. If you doubt this, do three things—let go of comparison, be kind to yourself, and get curious.

Transcript
Speaker:

Hooray Kia here.

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I'm this week's host of the Creative

Spiritual Journey podcast where Judy and I

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talk about those things that bring us joy.

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For me, I find joy by connecting

with nature, connecting with Jesus

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Christ and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living, and all the bits of magic

and wonder I come across while navigating

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this remarkable journey we call life.

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I.

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When I was thinking about what I wanted

my podcast to be about this week, I had

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the idea of talking about the elements of

our name, the Creative Spiritual Journey.

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It's kind of a quirky title,

the creative, spiritual journey.

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What does that mean?

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To be honest, Judy and I came up

with it because we were trying to get

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a URL for a website and everything

we wanted was already taken.

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So we started putting together anything

we could think of, and these three

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words just came together for us,

but it wasn't completely arbitrary.

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Each word has something Judy and I

had been working on or talking about

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together a couple of weeks ago.

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I talked about the spirit body connection,

the spirit and the body equaling the soul.

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I think that podcast covers my

ideas about the word spirit.

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I suppose if I had thought about it at

the time, I would've suggested naming

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our podcast, the Creative Soul journey.

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Hmm.

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Or the creative soulful journey.

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Well, I suppose.

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Neither of those sound

good, but you get my point.

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This creative journey we are on is for

the body and the spirit as they are

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joined together in this mortal existence

and how they will be for eternity,

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which is why it's so important that

we learn how to use them together.

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So sometime over the next few months,

I will give you my ideas about the word

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journey, which means that today I thought

I would focus on the word creative

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Sometime in the future, Judy May do

a similar podcast, which will be fun

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because while our thoughts will likely

overlap, I am sure they will also be

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very different, which my friends is the

beginning of my podcast on creativity.

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Each of us is similar, but

very different, and that is the

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magic and wonder of creativity.

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So let's talk about what

it means to be creative.

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Judy happens to be a fabulous

artist and wonderful painter.

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Me, I can barely draw a stick figure,

which of course means I'm not creative.

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Right?

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Do you believe that's true?

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Well, I can assure you, my

brain believes it's true.

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And I distinctly remember when I made

this decision, I was in the fourth grade.

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at the time I thought I

was pretty good at drawing.

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In fact, I might have gone so far as

to think I was the best in the class.

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Then a new kid showed up and I

remember being outside, sitting on

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the grass and having the teacher

ask us to draw our schoolhouse.

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I was working away when a

classmate mentioned that the new

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kids drawing was pretty good.

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I got up to see for myself.

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They were right.

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In fact, he wasn't pretty good.

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He was really good.

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He could draw in perspective

while my building was flat.

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And you know what?

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I sat back down and decided

I wasn't good at drawing.

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End of story.

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That's it.

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I never believed I was

good at drawing again.

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This opinion was formed in my brain

because I compared myself to someone else.

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O comparison, it is a creativity killer.

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I want you to remember the C word

comparison because I'm going to

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come back to it in a few minutes.

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Now, here is where my

story gets interesting.

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My brain has decided I can't draw.

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This is a thought my

brain is holding onto.

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It has become my belief, but as much

as my brain wants to hold onto this

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thought that I can't draw, another

part of me knows it isn't true.

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Here's why.

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Somewhere I got the idea that

it was good to practice drawing

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with your non-dominant hand.

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It's supposed to strengthen the

neurological connections between

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the left and right hemisphere of

your brain or something like that.

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I don't actually remember the details,

but I decided to give it a try.

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I picked a folk art drawing off

Pinterest, not a masterpiece, something

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simple, and I began copying it with

colored pencils into a sketchbook.

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With my left hand.

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I'm right-handed, right?

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Obviously this was incredibly awkward and

the drawing only had a rough resemblance

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to the original, but you know what?

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When I was done, I thought, wow, that

wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

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In fact, that's pretty

good for my left hand.

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What did you hear?

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What I just said?

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I said my drawing was pretty

good when I used my left hand.

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I could be kinder to myself.

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Isn't that interesting?

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I had a complete change of thought

there wasn't any expectation for

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my left hand, so anything was good.

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Crazy, huh?

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So I told you this whole drawing story

because I'm betting all of us have

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had some form of this experience.

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We all make comparisons and

judge ourselves accordingly.

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But my left-handed drawing experience

has taught me a lot about the

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power of being kind to myself.

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We need to be really kind.

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I would never talk to someone else

the way I sometimes talk to myself.

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Having expectations and beating myself

does not help me be a better artist,

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but loving myself certainly does.

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So that's one point, but let's keep going.

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My belief is that being able to draw or

some other artistic pursuit is only a

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small part of what it means to be creative

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And is only a small part of how I

would define the word creative in

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the creative spiritual journey.

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Now, I don't think I could talk about

creativity without quoting Elder Udo,

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he said The desire to create is one of

the deepest yearnings of the human soul.

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No matter our talents, education,

background, or abilities, we each

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have an inherent wish to create

something that didn't exist before.

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Everyone can create.

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You don't need money, position,

or influence in order to create

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something of substance or beauty.

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You might say, I'm not the creative type.

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If that's how you feel, think again and

remember that you are a spirit daughter of

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the most creative being in the universe.

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End quote.

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Do you believe that?

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Of course we believe God is creative.

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We only have to look around

the world to see that.

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But does that really mean

that each of us is creative?

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Of course we are.

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We can't read more than the first book

of the Bible before learning that.

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Genesis 1 27 says, so God created man

in his own image, in the image of God

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created he, him, male and female, created.

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He them.

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Hmm.

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That only says we were created in God's

image that we have as a appearance.

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Right.

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But that's not it.

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The Book of Abraham

gives more clarification.

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It says, let us go down and form

man in our image after our likeness.

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So we don't just have the

image of our heavenly parents.

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We are like them.

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As President Udo said, we are

spirit children of the most

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creative being in the universe.

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If we are like them, then of

course we are creative as well.

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Now, let me add this from Doctrine

and Covenants 46 for all have not

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every gift given unto them for there

are many gifts and to every man is

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given a gift by the spirit of God.

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To some is given one and

to some is given another.

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That all may be profited, thereby.

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okay.

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So believe it or not, we are all

given gifts and we are all creative.

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What does this mean?

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Let's talk about some creative women.

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We all know.

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How about Esther?

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Would you ever have thought

about Esther being creative?

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The scriptures don't say she could

draw or paint, but think about it.

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She used her position as Queen

to creatively strategize and save

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her people from a genocidal plot.

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She risked her life on that creativity

by going uninvited before the king,

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leading to the salvation of her people.

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Want another one?

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How about Miriam, the sister of Moses?

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She showed creativity when

she saved her baby brother.

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It was her creative thinking that

led to Moses being cared for by

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his own mother, while also being

raised by Pharaoh's daughter.

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So let me explain what

I think is interesting.

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For the first part of our lives,

there is a map of expectations.

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When you were in third grade,

you didn't have to think about

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what you were going to do next.

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It was all laid out the next year you

were going into fourth grade, right?

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And then you're going to go on to high

school and maybe college, or you will get

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your first apartment and a job, and then

maybe you would get married and have kids.

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of course there is some variation

in this map, but there is at least

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a rough outline of expectations.

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Then what happens?

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We hit middle age, what Judy and

I call our wisdom years and the

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map ends, there is nothing left

except retirement and death.

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Maybe some babysitting of

grandchildren and a cruise, but we

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are basically dropped off in the

wilderness with no map to follow.

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This is where we as women

have coined a new phrase.

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We have the opportunity, the

grand, wonderful opportunity

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to find our life purpose.

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we have been taught that in order to be

fulfilled, we must find this purpose.

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Now, if this phrase works

for you, that's great.

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I don't mean to belittle it, but

for me it's a complete disaster.

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My purpose, I have to find my purpose.

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What if I can't find it?

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I mean, where is it and how do I

know when I have found the right one?

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If I go off in the wrong

direction, could I miss it?

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And if I miss my purpose, then

what am I going to be miserable

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for the rest of my life?

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It seems too heavy and

massive of a responsibility.

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but here are the words I heard

from life coach and podcaster.

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Jody Moore.

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She said, don't worry

about finding your purpose.

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Just do something rewarding

and fulfilling right now.

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Ah, doesn't that feel like

a weight off your chest?

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We don't have to find our life purpose.

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We simply have to find something

rewarding and fulfilling.

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and do it.

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Now, I know this isn't necessarily as

easy as it sounds because as women we

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often get so busy taking care of others

that we lose touch with our desires.

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Seriously.

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Think about it.

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Do you ever have trouble

deciding what you really want?

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If this is the case, let me offer you

another C word that goes hand in hand

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with creativity, and that is curiosity.

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Creativity and curiosity are two

powerful forces that fuel our desires.

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Curiosity is the spark that

drives us to ask questions and

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explore the world around us.

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It pushes us to seek understanding,

challenges, assumptions, and

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to die deeper into the unknown.

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Without curiosity, we would remain

stagnant, unable to discover

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new possibilities or grow.

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Let me share with you three women

who weren't looking for their life

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purpose, But we're merely curious

about what was going on around

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them and what they had to offer.

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These are only three of thousands

of women I could have chosen from.

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The first is Marguerite Eloise Knight in

the:

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manufacturing plant, Marguerite saw some

limitations of the existing paper bags.

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They were flat and

didn't hold their shape.

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She envisioned a new kind of

paper bag with a square bottom,

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Allowing it to stand up more

easily and carry heavier items.

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Marguerite not only developed

this idea, but also designed

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a machine to produce the bags.

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I.

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In 1971, Marguerite attempted

to patent her design.

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Unfortunately, her patent was contested

by a male colleague who attempted to

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steal her creation, but Marguerite

successfully defended her right in court.

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Hooray.

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That was a huge win for a woman in 1971.

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Next I want to share the story

of Marie Anderson while living in

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New York City during the winter of

:

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drivers had difficulty seeing

through the icy snow covered windows.

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Inspired by this problem, Anderson

designed a manual lever operated

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wiper that could clean the windshield.

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The device consisted of a rubber blade

attached to a spring loaded arm that

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could be activated by the driver,

although initially rejected by automakers.

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Years later, Anderson's windshield

wipers became used by everyone.

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last, let me tell you the

story of Betty Graham.

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In the 1950s while working as a

secretary in a bank, she got frustrated

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as she tried to cover typing mistakes.

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So she went home and in her kitchen,

began experimenting with craft

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paint and other household supplies.

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In the end, she developed liquid paper.

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Using her own savings.

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She started a business and sold

the product from her home until

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it became so popular that she sold

the company to Gillette in:

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I love these stories of creative women.

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None of them had any idea what they were

going to do when they started, which

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makes me so happy because it means I

don't have to know what I am doing.

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My only goal is to keep

moving forward with curiosity.

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Sounds great, doesn't it?

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But here's the truth.

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Do you recall the first C word I asked

you to remember the word comparison?

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It's so easy for me to compare myself

to these women and say, I will never

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get a patent or invent something useful.

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So what's the point?

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Do you see how my brain has

looped around to where I started?

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Well, let me give you a quick recap

of what I've been talking about.

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We are all on a creative,

spiritual journey.

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We are all, each one of us creative

because we are daughters of the most

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creative beings in the universe.

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And if knowing this doesn't

make you believe you are

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creative, then do three things.

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Let go of comparison.

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Be kind to yourself, really kind

to yourself, and get curious.

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Easy, right?

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Oh, just kidding.

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I am not sure anything in life is easy,

but I have decided to deliberately seek

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creative opportunities and see what comes,

which is why Judy and I have created

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this podcast so that together we can

cultivate our creative God-like natures.

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Changing our habits isn't easy.

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Learning to be kind to

ourselves isn't easy.

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Identifying the next step on the journey

isn't easy, but no one said it would be.

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Thankfully, we aren't in this alone.

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Which is the heart of this podcast.

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We are all on this earth learning to

walk beside our savior, Jesus Christ.

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He is here to teach us that growth

requires patience, persistence, and faith.

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Every challenge is an opportunity

to become more like him.

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This earth life is our challenge to

embrace our full potential and stretch

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beyond what we thought possible.

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As all of us take small steps forward,

we not only transform ourselves, but we

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also have the opportunity to transform the

world in ways we have not yet imagined.

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That is the power of creativity.

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Judy and I know that your time is

precious and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes as

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we navigate this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast, will you take

the time right now to share it with a

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friend, share it somewhere on social

media, or leave us a five star rating.

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Your effort will help the podcast make

a bigger impact in the world, and we'll

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tell Judy and me that you like our show

and give us the motivation to keep going.

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Thank you in advance for your help.

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let me close with a few

more words from Elder Udo.

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The more you trust and rely

upon the spirit, the greater

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your capacity to create.

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That is your opportunity in this life

and your destiny in the life to come.

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Namaste.

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About the Podcast

Creative Spiritual Journey
one small, deliberate step at a time
We are all on a journey—a journey home to our heavenly parents. Any experienced traveler knows there are days you laugh and days you cry.

We aren’t here to tell you how to live—we are here to share how we live—how we survive, thrive, and even find joy!

The journey gets messy with rainstorms and sleepless flights but the hard times—the miserable times—those make the best stories.

And the vistas, the sunsets, the little birds outside the window—those are the reminders that God is in the details, he is aware of us, he has trod the path before.

The Creative Spiritual Journey Podcast is hosted by Judy and Ghia Cooley—two sisters in their wisdom years—who love the savior and are dedicated to making this journey one small, deliberate step at a time.

Join us!

About your host

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Ghia Cooley