Creativity and living the adventure...

HOLLIS STARTED IT!

I participated in a podcast today with my good friend Hollis Gross-Citron (www.aimcreativephilly.com and her podcast is on Podbean under "Creative Conversations with Hollis Citron") in which we discussed creativity.

This truly got me thinking about creativity and how it affects each and every one of us. What I am going to do today is answer some of those questions.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE CREATIVITY?

My answer on this one is quite simple. I do not define creativity. Creativity defines me.

Any incident or situation. Any conversation or glimpse of something unique. Literally anything can spark something in me. A thought I express will sometimes merit immediate notation in my notebook. A flower or the curl of a vine may merit immediate recording with my phone camera. 

Summing this up, it's that being open to those inspirations and ideas, and being willing to see them through childlike curiosity, is in and of itself creativity. What you do with those ideas (performance art, painting, writing, music) is magic. Everyday magic that comes from small things and blossoms into something that may or may not be your magnum opus...

Creativity hits me and I must react.

HOW DO YOU INCORPORATE IT IN YOUR LIFE?

Well for one, dear reader, I write books and silly poetry which you, graciously, purchase and, hopefully, enjoy! I also draw and paint. I take photographs. I make videos. I create!

I carry a notebook everywhere and I make sure I have more than one pen with me as well. (There is nothing more catastrophic and angst inducing that having your pen dry out or run out of ink mid-stream of a creative outpouring.)

I create videos to make my friends smile or to convey a message to them. I make up words to songs when the tune is stuck in my head but I don't know the real words. When my children were small, they were part of these exercises because the magic of creativity must be shared. Also because collaborations are wonderful!

I've even used it in auditing when working as an accounting tech because if you lose the trail, thinking outside the box can help you find it again.

The key here is that you must incorporate it in your life. It is part of the magic and adventure. Creativity is the seasoning in your sauce! The sprinkles on your ice cream! The snooty plating that would make a Michelin starred chef weep. (Even if you only made macaroni and cheese with a side of hotdogs...it's all about the presentation, dahling!)

WHY IS CREATIVITY IMPORTANT?

Creativity is important because:

• It lets you express your true self.
• It keeps your inner child entertained. (We all know what happens when my inner child is left unsupervised...)
• It turns every day into an adventure.

That last one is the most important one for me. If life is not an adventure, then why are we even here?

YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT:

Be child-like in the way you experience the world. See it as if you've never seen it before. Relive that magic of discovery. You can do the adulting later on. Now eat your peas!

Be open to the inspiration the world around you is sending your way. You don't have to write or draw or dance or sing or act. You just have to be open to magic. Maybe the smell of fresh earth made you think of garden vegetables and rekindles your love of cooking. Maybe that flowering shrub you passed on the way home from work makes you think about those vibrant coloured cushions you saw for your patio. Maybe you will just fall asleep deeply and soundly for the first time in years to dream of worlds you've never been to.

Be your truest self. When you express how things make you feel (communicating them to those around you through conversation or through some other creative form), people see the real you. The real you is AMAZING!!

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