Why You Must Create

Tolkien and the sacred art of sub-creation

We live in an age of consumption. Every screen entices you to scroll a little longer, offering up a constant stream of content, outrage, and distraction. To consume is easy, to create is anything but.

Although this sounds like a modern issue, it’s actually one that’s been around for far longer than you might realize. In fact, it's something J.R.R. Tolkien himself was acutely aware of — and he tried to warn us.

Tolkien believed that man was not made to consume the world, but to shape it. Reinforced in his conviction by his Christian faith, he worked to develop his philosophy of “sub-creation.” The concept began as a simple literary theory, but soon grew into something much deeper — a vision of human dignity, responsibility, and hope for the future.

Today, we explore Tolkien’s concept of sub-creation to discover what it can teach you about why you must create — and how you should do so. Because for Tolkien, the answer to a world addicted to noise wasn’t silence, but song.

And if you want to reclaim your sanity, your agency, and your purpose, you must first learn how to sing…