I am no artist, but I love music. I am always surprised (and rather unpleasantly!) when the music industry competes for my attention. It makes no sense to me that I should have to like an artist just because he or she is the one getting the most marketing effort from a company.

After all, if music is a ladder to the soul, and if each one of us is to tread the path of service in a unique way, doesn’t it make sense that we have very varied tastes when it comes to music? And if this is the case, doesn’t it make more sense to have a thousand musical stars rather than a handful of superstars?

Pushing the thought further, doesn’t it make sense to have not only the incredibly talented voices (à la Céline Dion) be heard, but also to hear the voices of the less talented, but talented nonetheless?

The same argument can be applied, in my opinion, to any form of art. The book Twilight grabbed the attention of millions of girls around the world. Although I don’t understand why, who am I to say it’s not an acceptable art form, in that is has touched their hearts? By the same token, who has the right to judge my bookshelf (who am I kidding: my bookshelves!) filled with books that are important to my life?

It therefore only makes perfect sense to have websites such as Borna Safai’s Creativity Everywhere. The site is essentially a blog with contributions from people around the world, many of whom would not generally be called “artists.”  Although it was only recently launched, contributors already range from computer scientists to nurses. What brings this seemingly disparate group of individuals together is a yearning to strive to learn using whatever tools they have, including their humble talents.

One of the basic tenets of this blog is, according to Borna, the fact that we are all creatures of God. Since we were made in His image, we have, latent within us, the potential to exhibit all of the various names we give Him. And if God is the Creator, it means that every one of us, made in His image, can create. We might not know it, and we might not think we are good at translating reflections and emotions into a form of art, whatever it might be. But just like you can’t expect to pick up a 50-pound dumbell without a rigorous training regimen, we need to work our “creativity muscle” regularly.

Another central tenet is that quality of production isn’t considered here in the mastery of the art being produced, but rather its reflective quality. A badly recorded song expressing inner emotions that can’t be expressed through spoken words is considered to be a beautiful piece of art, much more so than an overproduced piece whose existence is only related to contributing to the marketing machinery that makes a large chunk of the music industry of today.

As Borna told me in a recent conversation we had about his website, his hope is “to use the site as a showcase for people who are interested in both creating and seeing meaningful art. It obviously gives creative people a chance of sharing creations they otherwise would never share on a large scale. There is also an idea of bringing creativity ‘down’ a level, so to say, making it more accessible so as to enable and empower people to try it out themselves. Some posts will show and give examples of how to go about and practice one’s creativity, while others will also discuss and reflect aspects of creativity.”

As mentioned above, art, being a ladder to the soul, becomes another way of investigating the truth about life, its meaning, and ways to excel at it (and if you have figured out how, I’d love to get an email from you!).  Since the Truth is so complex and multifaceted, and since all are seeking it, and since there are many roads leading unto it, it only makes sense that Borna continues to look for more contributors, despite the fact that he already has a base of regular contributors.

If you consider yourself on an eternal journey towards God, and if you consider yourself part of the construction of a new civilization, and if you would like to contribute to this art-centric conversation, visit www.creativityeverywhere.org, take stock of the feel of the direction Borna is taking this blog, and send him your stuff at [email protected].