For my part, creative exploration and expression help me know myself and the world around me better. New perspective arrives when painting or writing a poem, or when developing a character in a play or film. In my experience, when we give ourselves to the creative process, we're rewarded with new understanding and the satisfaction of having allowed the unknown to come forward, even when we don't love the result. We often don't know what we're capable of achieving or what the habit of making will reveal – until we do it.

After nearly three decades in a creative career, I'm closely familiar with the challenges of creative development. I also know the excitement of a finished piece. When I hear someone express their desire to write, draw, sculpt, paint or perform, my whole being says, "Yes!" Because in years of being surrounded by creative types – reading scripts in development, seeing sculptures come to life, watching films take shape, hearing stories evolve – I've seen the benefits of answering the creative call.