Hi David, thanks for the question.
I think I know what you're saying and I'm going to counter it (ever so slightly) by taking the touchy-feely god-y part away from my initial answer.
As a creative person, then there's something in you driving you to create. It can simply be "the desire to create." That's MORE than enough. My contention is that this desire (be it niggling or overwhelming or anywhere in between) shows up in the work. You do it because you want to, and the 'wanting to', I suspect, is a presence. The intention. But where does this originate?
In my own estimation-- it all comes from the same place. But again, I speak only for myself and would never presume to convince someone I don't know that they're mistaken.
But, say that I'm wrong (I could very well be)-- you're connected to something when you write, yes? Something inside. Hell, it could very well be only inside, you know?
I think what forces me to link the two together-- Creator and Urge to Create-- is, plainly, the symmetry of the experience. Pious, I ain't. But I have (for worse and for better) a strangely difficult time divorcing my day-to-day doings and my religious life. They're inextricable.
This hasn't always been the case, and I wasn't raised churched. ("Churched" is such a queer word!) And I'd been foolish to assert that the things I believe at 38 will be the things I believe at 48, 58, 68-- about the universe, about poetry.
But I'm pretty sure that something other-wise, something other-than-my-self has a hand in my work, my desire to do the work.
Perhaps that's where we most diverge-- it's hard for me to believe that I'm driving the car of my desires. I don't think the desire originates internally inside of me. I'll certainly nod to the possibility that it does, but I'm twitchy about believing it.
It's by no means a snarky or provocative question! I'm happy for the discussion. I hope my answer isn't condescending-- that's not my intent at all.
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