Act of Will

“Creation is an act of will,”

                        “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Before I create my art, I conceive it in my mind. It exists from the instant it’s conceived, and all that’s needed to transform the concept into a tangible work of art are time and effort, paint or pen and canvas or paper.

‘Positive thinking.’ ‘Mind over matter.’

If God created the heavens and the earth merely by thinking them into existence, the ultimate power in the universe might be considered willpower.

Our creativity reflects divine creativity because we think new things into existence every day… new inventions, new architectures, new chemical compounds, new manufacturing processes, new works of art, new recipes for bread and pie and pot roast.”

                        “Well I’m not going to risk eternal damnation by claiming that I can do     anything as good as God.”

“I don’t mean that exactly. We don’t have any real godlike power, so we aren’t able to transform our thought energy directly into matter, but guided by our willpower, our thought and reason, we can use other kinds of energy to transform existing matter into virtually anything we conceive. I mean, we spin something into thread to make cloth to sew into clothes. And we cut down trees to make lumber to build shelter, we take dirt out of the ground and make all kinds of metals. Our processes of creation is a lot slower, clumsier, a lot more labour intensive, but it’s still fundamentally an act of creation that we are doing. Do you understand what I’m trying to say here?”

                        “If I ever do, please have me put away please.”

“Work with me here, okay? Can you make an effort?”

                        “Okay, all right, whatever.”

“We are made in God’s image, you ok with that?”

                        “Yeah? So?”

“Then it’s also reasonable to assume that although we aren’t able to create matter out of nothing and although we can’t change existing matter solely by the application of thought, we do however, with our less than godlike willpower, influence the shape of things to come.”

                        “Things to come?”

“That’s right.”

                        “The shape of things to come. What things?”

“Future events. If we are in Gods image, then maybe we possess a small measure…a tiny but still useful fraction…of the divine power to shape things. Not matter, in our case, but the future, our own future. With the exercise of willpower, maybe we can shape our own destiny, at least in part.”

                        “What, I think, and because I think, I become?”

“That’s seems too simplistic, you still have to make the right decisions, and you still have to work for it…but, yeah, I guess that’s putting it right down to the basics. I believe all of us can shape our futures if we apply enough thought, willpower, and effort. The freewill that has allowed us is the power to shape our own future, hopefully within reason. We have the power to make or break, to create. To live as we choose. God is the Creator, we are just creators in His shadow.”