Balancing on Creativity

[sooZen]

How does one live a creative life? Is it important to be creative? What is creativity? Questions I find myself asking this morning. I mean, some days are just bursting with creativity and others, I can barely fathom what that even means.

The dictionary defines creativity as:

cre·a·tiv·i·ty
   /ˌkrieɪˈtɪvɪti, ˌkriə-/ Show Spelled[kree-ey-tiv-i-tee, kree-uh-]
–noun
1.
the state or quality of being creative.
2.
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3.
the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.


Not sure that I agree to or even understand the standard definition. To me, creativity is like zen, it is a way of life. To live a creative life one must be open to any and every moment and perhaps that is what is meant by "transcend traditional ideas..." but I am still not clear on this.

Albert Einstein famously said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge" and you may be a genius but unless you are able to make real your ideas, your theories, your imaginings then all of that smart stuff is for naught. I think people that don't use their creativity must be very boring indeed. Creativity is making it real, making, writing, playing something outside of your interior thoughts and ideas. In being creative, you must get out of your comfort zones and stretch yourself. Then it becomes satisfying when you do create because you have stretched yourself into the unknown.

When I talk about creativity then it follows that I get into definitions of what art is. Now as everyone knows, art is just not a beautiful creation. No, not at all, art can be ugly and disturbing and kick you in the ass when you behold it, read it or hear it. Or it can be a creation that bores the viewer, the listener to tears. When someone creates by rote, a paint by numbers kind of creation then where is the creativity? Art should move you, stir something inside of you or at least that is what I think. We all have our likes and dislikes when it comes to art and creations but we should know what inspires or moves us if we are to know ourselves.

Now, do you think that creativity is an expectation? I expect myself to be creative, to create something, whether it is a meal, a rock garden, a display of my herbs at the Farmers Market, a story I tell, a way of appearing and dressing myself, all of these and more are a reflection of my creativity. If you expect to be creative, you are. And when creativity is at a low ebb, I allow myself a vacation of sorts from doing anything creative and just observing which always inspires more creativity.

Where does all this creativity come from? For myself it comes from two things, being alone and contemplation and being with others and participation. You need solitude and silence sometimes to be creative, to let those juices well up and bubble into what you create. And don't ever tell me (and many people do) that you are "not creative" because I don't buy it, everyone, all humans have the ability to be creative. (It really is what separates us from all other beings.) In the silence and solitude I (and you) are able to reach inside and pull out an idea and make it real or at least attempt to make it real. Of course, I am not always successful at the attempt but the attempting itself may inspire you to try a different path that you haven't considered before.

Participation, being with others is important, in fact just as important as being in solitude when creating. Singing in a choir or playing in a drum circle or getting together with friends to cook or having a lesson in some craft or going on a hike with a partner, all of these type of things inspires creativity. Creativity in others inspires creativity in oneself. When you watch children play with each other, or give children materials to create something with, they have no boundaries in their creativity (unless one sets them i.e. "draw between the lines.") As children, we were able to create fantasy worlds, make music that entertained us like singing a silly song, draw a picture and all without criticism, without self criticism, we just created and were satisfied. Our participation in creative activities with others will inspire more and more creativity in ourselves.

Finding that child that we are, were, is important in the act of creation. To let go, to just be in the process of creating and not judging what it is that we create. And to be satisfied in the act of creation and not just the end product. So, being creative, living a creative life is truly simple and it should be. Inspiration is everywhere if you just quiet yourself and observe, if you just let it flow and not dam it up with self doubt. Be like a child and create for the joy of creating, for the satisfaction of making a fantasy real. Balance your solitude with participation and creativity will happen.

"I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught." ~ Georgia O'Keeffe

"I can always be distracted by love, but eventually I get horny for my creativity." ~ Gilda Radner

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." ~ Charles Mingus

[mtmynd]

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." ~ Charles Mingus

Great line by Mingus.

Creativity, at its best, is the burning desire to express ones very being... to manifest that which we know to be our core presence without embarrassment, shame or guilt... an act of freedom that defies even our own expectations.

"In the beginning God created..." links hu'man creativity to the Divine that illuminates within that which we must be to sustain our spirituality.

[sooZen]

""In the beginning God created..." links hu'man creativity to the Divine that illuminates within that which we must be to sustain our spirituality."

Um, okay, I guess. Actually, what are you saying? I can imagine all kinds of things from this statement. You are obtuse, here, I think? Quoting the bible and speaking of the "Divine". Perhaps you should simplify it for me or maybe I should just shadup and say "amen brother!"?

"Creativity, at its best, is the burning desire to express ones very being... to manifest that which we know to be our core presence without embarrassment, shame or guilt... an act of freedom that defies even our own expectations."

This I understand and wholeheartedly agree...

Anyway you always inspire creativity in me and I know that is a two way street! Thank you for your response and the inspiration.

[stilltrucking]

I am unbalanced these days. A Stranger In A Strange Land
I traded my CB for a computer.

Now a vision is what you see with the mind's eye; which is to say, a vision is what you see. A seer is a man who can see things that others cannot see. He is Prometheus, a man who goes into the void and brings back something and shows it to you, so that that kind of void is forever illuminated. After he has done that, anybody can look into that void and they can see it because the man brought it back. He illuminates something that anyone could see, but they don't see it. He does it some way. He paints it, he dances it, he writes it down.
Lew Welch
in The San Francisco Poets

Appendix A - The Orality of the Beat Writers

Do u think elephants can be artists too? I wonder about this video.

[judih]

ylang ylang

what could be more creative?
the sound
the look
& the smell

and we take it from there

[sooZen]

Jack, I have no doubt that elephants can be creative. Although, I don't think they are inspired to paint without encouragement (and materials) from humans. But I believe that the elephant in the video enjoys and knows she is creating something that her people appreciate and she likes the result.

Scientists know, and have proven, that dolphin pairs (I saw this on Nova Now) will add an extra dimension to their acrobatic routines which they were taught, and do this in tandem when asked to "create something new." This shows that they communicate what they are going to do with each other and decide on say, a tail lift, at the end of the routine and do it simultaneously without being taught that or rewarded for it. They do it just for fun.

We humans know so little about how animals actually communicate with each other and what they are actually "saying or doing". The science community is just now starting to realize that animals have emotions, they love, feel loss, get pissed, etc. All things that an observant person knew just by watching them.

Creativity comes in many, many forms. Some animals make music and dance, some make beautiful tableau's where they wow a mate, my now departed cat Sara loved to walk across wet paint as if she knew she was leaving her mark. "We" think we know all but we really have barely scratched the surface of what our fellow planetary denizens are capable of or actually "doing" and I do believe the "higher" animals are very creative.


ylang ylang judih!

a bell rings
sensory memory
look! hear!

[Exsurgent]

(Artistic) creativity is simply using skill to shape something into something that nature doesn't shape on its own, whether it be a nest, a web, a poem, etc. Nature doesn't necessarily need, but is often strengthed by having it.

[sooZen]

(Artistic) creativity is simply using skill to shape something into something that nature doesn't shape on its own, whether it be a nest, a web, a poem, etc. Nature doesn't necessarily need, but is often strengthed by having it.

Nicely put...