Give from the Gut: What a 5-Year-Old Taught Me About Creativity, Instincts, and Releasing Inhibitions

“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso

In a recent post about my recent pregnancy loss, I mentioned a picture that was drawn and given to me by a dear friend’s five-year-old daughter. For those of you who didn’t read that particular blog, here is how I described it:

 “The first thing I saw was Ben, the baby, and me (though a friend has pointed out that it could also be me and Jesus with the baby moving toward Him). I asked my friend’s daughter if that was my baby and she gave me a quizzical expression (she didn’t yet know about our loss!) and said she’d drawn baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary.

“I am convinced the Lord dropped that image into her precious, tender heart to encourage Ben and me, to remind us that our beloved unborn child is in His presence, experiencing a level of joy and happiness that we cannot know this side of paradise.”

 A few days after receiving the photo, I wondered this:

 “How many of us adults have ever felt the urge to create something for someone– a painting, a poem, a candle, a quilt… –  then disregarded the notion as too random or silly to act upon?

“How many of us would quickly convince ourselves that such artistic expressions would be considered foolish, even childish, by their recipients?”

 Those, of course, are rhetorical questions, as I think you would agree with me that adults are generally more inclined than children are to suppress their spontaneous impulses, especially when those impulses are seemingly without rhyme or reason.

Jaclyn, our five-year-old friend, is less inhibited by virtue of the fact that she is, well, five years old.

For her, a large part of her day is spent imagining and experimenting, designing and building, making and sharing. She colors, paints, draws all kinds of whimsical pictures, expresses her fun-loving personality through fashion and makeup, forms impressively intricate structures out of LEGOs and blocks… And she loves to make cards featuring charming flourishes, cheerful hearts, and her favorite word, “Happy.”

Giving away her original creations to someone she cares about is a natural next step in Jaclyn’s creative process; she doesn’t think twice, and why would she? Who wouldn’t want to receive a one-of-a-kind gift that was crafted and given with love?

I can’t say for certain what – or Who – prompted Jaclyn to draw me the picture, the treasure, that has brought me such peace in the wake of our loss. But my belief is that the Lord inspired her, imprinting onto the receptive lens of her mind’s eye a simple concept that would produce a profound effect. If she had ignored the idea, I would be without one of the greatest comforts I have ever received, not to mention without the much-needed reminder of the power creativity has, not merely to offer perspective, escape, and entertainment, but to bless in a way that is exceptionally genuine, thoughtful, and unforgettable.

 Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level. – Joyce Brothers

 All of us are familiar with “gut feelings,” that is, those ineffable, subconscious hunches that we can neither question nor explain. We know that we feel them, whatever they are, just as acutely as we feel the sting of an ant biting our feet or a bone-chilling February breeze. From decisions as simple as where to go for lunch, to much more significant matters like moving or starting a business, these strange nudges impel us to do things we otherwise would have avoided.

As a writer, I get gut feelings concerning specific stories I feel I must write, as well as characters I must write about. I also get them regarding much of my nonfiction work as well. Take this blog post, for example. I didn’t have to sit quietly in a zenned-out state, blasting Beethoven as I brainstormed what to write about. Rather, the idea seemed to materialize, fully formed, inside my frontal cortex when I was busy doing something completely unrelated to writing (likely chasing my toddler around the house!). All I had to do was open my laptop and let my intuition lead me, as it had led Jaclyn’s the day she drew my picture.[1]

And that leads me to the next and final idea I’d like to posit here, which is that the confidence it takes to trust a gut instinct is contagious.

Benefiting from Jaclyn’s impromptu creative act spurred within me – whether consciously or unconsciously, I cannot say – a similar desire to “go with my gut” and seek, through the written word, to inspire you to tune in to your own instincts, and create accordingly.

If you can’t recall the last time you acted on a sudden and unexplainable urge to make something for someone, or otherwise reach out to them in a way that seems unusual, or downright weird, then consider this an invitation to think about why that may be.

Were you simply too busy, or convinced yourself that you were?

Were you self-conscious, fearful the gift would have been poorly received?

Did you think you weren’t talented or skilled enough to adequately execute your idea?

Or, have you not had any such inclinations at all because your hectic, jam-packed life doesn’t allow for the playfulness of whimsies and creativity?

If you answered yes to any of those, then it is safe to say you’re experiencing “the problem” mentioned in this post’s opening quote from Picasso: “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

Young children are rarely too busy or self-conscious to be kept from creating. They haven’t yet experienced the sting of rejection, and so the possibility of their wonderful little works not being appreciated doesn’t cross their minds. And because they have parents or other guardians tending to their major needs and working each day to support them, they have plenty of space and leisure time in their days to welcome ideas with open arms and eager hearts.

Remembering the above, it’s easy to see why we grown-ups grow apart from our inner children, and furthermore, it seems as though our world makes it all but impossible for us to reconnect with them.

But it isn’t impossible to undo the damage wrought by years of “adulting” and the various hardships that have repelled us from frivolity and imaginativeness. And the even better news is the solution can be condensed into the first four-word sentence of this post’s title: “Give from the gut.”

Don’t think about reasons why you shouldn’t or excuses for why you can’t.

Only think of the freedom that accompanies the carefree feeling of experimenting and creating.

Only imagine the joy of putting life on hold for a half hour or so so you can revisit the childlike part of you that is yearning to messy its hands again.

Only focus on the potential blessing your creation can be to the person you feel led to create for.

Only remember that confidence is contagious, and whoever receives your gift will likely be inspired to pay your kindness forward with a heartfelt work of their own.

 I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. – Stephen Grellet

[1] Allow me to say that writing is most often NOT as easy as I make it out to be here. Sometimes, however, the “Muse” rewards artists for our perseverance and tenacity by giftwrapping ideas for us and delivering them to our doorsteps.