The Creative Life

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 28 MAY 2001

God is creative, and we are creative. That's the premise of Unity minister Butterworth's straightforward and inspiring guide to living a creative life. Although he uses the Genesis account as the book's organizing principle (his seven steps parallel the seven days of creation and rest), this is not a particularly Jewish or Christian book. Rather, Butterworth draws on teachings both Transcendentalist and New Age God is creativity, God is us, God is in us, etc. On the first day of creation, God said, "Let there be light," and Butterworth claims that seeking the inner light is likewise the first step in developing a creative self. He also dwells on the phrase "Let there be," suggesting that readers should take that phrase as their motto: "No suggestion of effort, no strain, no hurry... just let." The overall premise of the book is very, well, creative; Butterworth's use of the creation account in Genesis as a template for human creativity is surprisingly compelling. The exercises he includes at the end of each chapter, however, disappoint. Butterworth urges the newly creative to take a 10-minute breather in the park each week, for example, and to make a written list of their greatest disappointments in life. Such suggestions are predictable and virtually indistinguishable from those in many other self-help book. Still, on the whole this guide will speak to those who want to live a more intentionally creative and spiritual life.