Last week I celebrated my Dad's end-of-life anniversary. He was a professional musician who passed at age 47 from ALS, which he lived with for 4 years. His illness was a deeply defining life experience for me on many levels. As years go by, I understand more and more how his creative process helped him through these final years.

A year and a half into this health journey, my Dad was full-time in a wheelchair with a bit of finger movement left. One day, his brain and my hands dissected a computer mouse and we rewired it so he could accomplish a click with a tiny movement of his thumb. He had a head mouse where small head movements would move the cursor on the screen.

Since he had all day to sit, he worked on an album, inputting note by note to create full songs. Friends would come to lay down live tracks and he would create midi instrumentation. With 30% lung capacity, he whisper-sang one of the songs.

Looking back, I see with new vision how immersing in this final project helped my Dad process the intense life experience that was happening. There is always room for creativity, even, or especially, when life gets really hard. It is so essential to focus on things of beauty and bring something new into existence, in whatever dimension you are inspired. I feel a new understanding of how important art is: how it connects us to the mystery of life and renews creative energy.