Ummm...Now What? (Vision vs. Mission)

Celebration with a surprise
I am happy to announce that Katie and I completed our first goal with this project!  What we decided to do was create a rough demo album of several old songs we've written separately over the years.  We wanted to do this in order to learn how to collaborate together, provide constructive feedback to each other and make the songs the best they can be.  And we wanted to do all of that in three months (by Christmas).

We made it and we learned A LOT in the process.  So, it was a success all around in my book.

But a funny thing happened after we completed that goal.  For the last several weeks we haven't done anything with the project.  Granted, it was holiday time and lots of  traveling ensued, but that wasn't the only thing going on here.

I'm just now realizing that we forgot something rather obvious and important...ermm...we forgot to set another goal.  Oops.  I guess, looking at the first goal as being as ambitious as it was, I didn't have the mental energy to think too far past it.  I wonder now though how smart that was, because now we've lost some of the excitement and momentum gained in the first sprint of the project.

Vision vs. Mission
A week ago, a very wise friend of mine spoke about the difference between "vision" and "mission" when it comes to our life's callings and what we were put on this earth to do.  It was a fascinating exploration of the realities of those topics and the practical applications to our lives (and perhaps another post), but for now, I think the topic could be boiled down to this:

• Mission should refer to the daily activities that we find ourselves doing.  It is the "what" of our dreams and it is ever changing to serve our vision.
• Vision then is the "why" of our dreams.  In other words, vision should refer to way that we see that the world could be, but isn't yet.  It's the motivation for our mission.

In light of reflecting on these definitions, what I realized is that I had made a goal (shore up theses songs and get this demo recorded) that was related what I felt was my mission, but I had not considered my vision and what implications it had on future goals and activities.

I suspect I'm not the only one to whom this happens.  I think we all "miss the forest for the trees" as the old saying goes.  We get so wrapped up in daily details and activities that we forget about why we're doing what we're doing in the first place.  Then we lose momentum for our dream and the vision we have for our creative lives.

So what's next then?
To determine what's next, I should now actually take a step back and check in with my vision for the project and then decide which steps of mission flow naturally from that vision.  Here's what it looks like for me at this point:

• My vision for the Living (un)Explored Project is to see a generation of creative people embracing their gifts and bringing the fruits of those gifts into the world as they have been created to do.
• So, now the next steps of the mission to see this vision fulfilled are going to be:

1. Write blog entries faithfully (the subtitle does say every Monday after all) and continue to inform and encourage others in their creative journeys.
2. Pray, reflect and read others' thoughts on the issues that impede such journeys (like fear, pride, laziness, etc.) and the wisdom that can aid our creative journeys, and include those insights in these writings.
3. Continue to move forward in my own creative journey, if for no other reason, to have successes and failures to share here:
1. Start preparing for open-mic engagements around town
2. Provide copies of the demo to friends and folks in my creative community for feedback and support
3. Strategize ways to distribute our music in wise ways
4. Keep writing and having a posture to receive inspiration

Journey Together
I share this vision not because it should be yours as well.  Everyone has their own unique vision.  Rather, I share mine in order to help provide an example and try to demonstrate concretely how to think about our dreams and the actions associated with moving forward in them.

At the same time, I'm just now learning what all of this means myself, so I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with others.  Who's up for the adventure!?  It's going to be exciting, if nothing else.

-Michael

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Have you ever found yourself stuck after achieving a goal?  How did you find your way out of it?

Remembering the most creative person in history

Merry Christmas and happy New Year everyone!

Recently, I've been trying to view the my life, the world, God and relationships through the lens of creativity and the creative process-- that's really what this blog is about.  And over the past few weeks, given the holiday season, it has struck me that every year many of us celebrate, what I would consider, one of the most creative moments in our history.

You see there's a problem with this world and our lives.  We sense this problem at one level or another--deep down, we have a hunger for the transcendent.  We have a longing for eternal things.  We were created in the image of God and ultimately, we have a desire to know and be known by Him.  But stuff just seems to get in the way.  We get in the way.  There seems to be a chasm between us, people tied up by our own selfishness, fear, excuses and brokenness, and this God, who is by definition loving and perfect.  Even when altruistic activities appear in our lives, self-glorifying motivations always seem to be at the core of them.  We are hostage to our depravity.  We're stuck and without hope to find freedom no matter what we seem to try.

But God had a rescue mission for us.

And the sheer brilliance and elegance of this plan is breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

I'm talking about the moment many of us celebrate every December.  When God came to us in a form that we could understand and relate with, came to us as a fellow human being, fully man and fully God (and no, I don't know how that works either) in the person of Jesus of Nazareth over 2000 years ago.

This Jesus lived a perfect life, loved extravagantly, and taught with wisdom and authority that had been unknown at the time and ever since.  This Jesus healed the sick, forgave broken people of their faults, set people free from spiritual oppression and stilled the wind and chaotic waters at a single command.

This Jesus was a king.  Many around him recognized that and wanted to crown him and let his fame and power rise within the earthly systems of the time.  But, it turned out this Jesus was the best kind of king, the kind that would do anything to serve his people, even to the point of death.  And that was the path he chose instead.

And God showed his love for us that while we were still broken and sinful people, he died for us.

And this Jesus was put to death as an innocent man.  As he was dying, he showed the absolute loving character of God and the desire to draw everyone to himself once more by asking this of God his Father: "Forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

This was and is the ultimate example of purest love.

But the story doesn't end there...

This is also the Jesus that could not be held down by the grave.  This is the Jesus who rose from dead as evidenced by an empty tomb and an impressive number of verifiable eyewitnesses and accounts.  This is the Jesus that commissioned his followers to spread the news of his love and speak life into this hurting world.  This is the Jesus that will come again to make all things right and bring the kingdom of heaven fully to earth.

This is Jesus: the king, the savior, the one whom I trust with my life.  This is Jesus who I am dearest friends with, who will never leave me and in whom I put my hope.

If creative gifts are for the purpose of revealing truth, celebrating life and serving and loving others, which I believe them to be, who could we point to as a more creative person than this Jesus?

Friends, is this the Jesus you know?

Much love and many blessings this new year.

-Michael