What every artist struggles with, and what every human being needs to discover…
“Every artist struggles to find their voice.” I’ve heard this said time and time again, in conversation, in movies, even in my own head. The search for one’s artistic voice always sounded like such a pretentious, mythological, spiritual journey to me. I used to think things like, “Once I experience real loss or tragedy, then I’ll find my voice” or, “I just need to see more of the world, then I’ll know what to say and how to say it.” Unless I went on some sort of retreat across the country where I lived in a van and slept under the stars, then I would never truly understood who I was as a creative being. While this may be true for some people, I don’t think these things are common denominators when it comes to finding our voice.
In thinking about this topic the other day, I couldn’t help but be brought back to Genesis 1. Famously referred to as the creation poem, it begins with a God whose first action is to create the heavens and the earth. How does God go about this? If we look down just a bit into verse three, we see the second action God takes, “and God said…”
He speaks.
Those words are repeated ten times in this first chapter, precluding each and every piece of the creative puzzle, thus bringing order out of chaos. This is how the entire universe was created, through the voice of the original Creator.
The artistic voice is a longing to create what does not yet exist, and therefore bring order out of the chaos that this life can be.
The elementary school teacher finds her voice in creating new ways for her students to learn the skills that will be the basis for their higher education. The creators of Twitter found their voice in creating a way for everyone, even those across the world from one another, to quickly connect and enter into conversation. The neighbor finds his voice in offering a neighborhood carpool to work, which not only will help the families in his community financially, but will also lead to new, lasting friendships.
Finding your voice does not necessarily mean finding the right words to say. Finding your voice means finding a wrong to make right. Finding your voice means creating something out of nothing. Finding your voice means acting on the impulse deep within saying, “Go ahead, speak up.” The world will be better because you did.
In thinking about this topic the other day, I couldn’t help but be brought back to Genesis 1. Famously referred to as the creation poem, it begins with a God whose first action is to create the heavens and the earth. How does God go about this? If we look down just a bit into verse three, we see the second action God takes, “and God said…”
He speaks.
Those words are repeated ten times in this first chapter, precluding each and every piece of the creative puzzle, thus bringing order out of chaos. This is how the entire universe was created, through the voice of the original Creator.
The artistic voice is a longing to create what does not yet exist, and therefore bring order out of the chaos that this life can be.
The elementary school teacher finds her voice in creating new ways for her students to learn the skills that will be the basis for their higher education. The creators of Twitter found their voice in creating a way for everyone, even those across the world from one another, to quickly connect and enter into conversation. The neighbor finds his voice in offering a neighborhood carpool to work, which not only will help the families in his community financially, but will also lead to new, lasting friendships.
Finding your voice does not necessarily mean finding the right words to say. Finding your voice means finding a wrong to make right. Finding your voice means creating something out of nothing. Finding your voice means acting on the impulse deep within saying, “Go ahead, speak up.” The world will be better because you did.
Follow jon on Twitter @jonjorgenson
