Soul Fire: Accessing Your Creativity
Thomas Ryan, CSP
Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, VT
copyright 2008. 138 pages, paper. $16.99 US.

Reviewed by Maureen Weber.

Sometimes you find a book that seems to be written just for you, when you need it most. Soul Fire is one of those books. In his introduction, Paulist Father Tom Ryan outlines "four things you should know about this book": it includes but is not limited to people who are already proficient with creative pursuits; the target audience is those who are in the second half of their lives; it is accessible to those of all faiths, or none; and "the medium is also the message" in that the book contains both prose and Ryan's own poetry. With my 50th birthday looming, it was Ryan's "target audience" that caught my attention.

According to Ryan, the second half of life is a wakeup call: "As we face the finiteness of the human condition, we sense a pressing need to do more than just 'exist.' . . . We feel the heat of the smouldering embers of creativity within us. We feel the urgency of midlife and its corresponding call to recognize, accept responsibility for, and give expression to our creative fire. The impulse to create is strong, and we are ready." But it involves risk.

This book is designed to coax out the creative spirit that dwells within all of us, even though we may at first not recognize it or may be too timid to explore. The book consists of six subdivided chapters that each end with Questions for Reflection and Exercises to Access Your Creativity. Ryan draws on his own journey, and shares poetry selections he has written so that his experiences and creative expression can help give readers insights that will allow them to tap into their own creative expression, in whatever form that might take.

People tend to feel threatened by "creativity" � I have heard people who can bake wonderful pies, or fix almost anything in the house, lament that they can't write, paint or play an instrument, as though those were the only valid forms of self-expression. But Ryan emphasizes that creativity is not limited to traditional artistic pursuits. "It is taking the nearest exit out of the traffic jam on the highway and getting there by back roads. It's using a paper clip or bobby pin to hold the machine together long enough to finish the job . . . the mother dancing among the needs of three children. The coach keeping the volatile mix of personalities on his roster playing as a team." Ryan provides plenty of ideas and exercises to help us get past the roadblocks we've set up and to unleash our powers of imagination.

Ryan is a rare blend of athletic energy and sensitive compassion. He can play football, backpack in the mountains or go whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon. But he also is a gentle spirit who encourages us with enthusiasm to light the fire of our own healing creativity. From his poem Sunset:

Go.
Put down the book.
Open the door and step outside.
This sunset will last only a few moments.
In these clouds your life and whole world are reflected.
This golden fleece curled about the mountain
asks you to open your soul
to be all here
now.

It's never too late.