EXTENDING CREATIVITY

Creating is not the creation any more than planning is the plan. The cliché about the journey being more important than the destination is because of what we learn along the way.  We have the ability to make strategic decisions that affect the outcome.  I respectfully disagree with Steven Covey’s starting with the end in mind nor do I support reverse engineering. However, it can help to solve some critical issues such as brain surgery for an implant to shut off the cravings in addiction.  I prefer to keep an open mind, receptive to new insights, inspirations and discoveries that may be glad surprises. 

How I engage with the creative process - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually - helps me to make choices about how I spend my time and immerse myself in the process. It’s more about process than product.

When I place myself in a position, in a chair, at a desk, in a particular environment, it needs to be comfortable.  Whether I choose to use a keyboard or write longhand makes a difference.  An artist’s choice of a medium and a place to write, design, draw, paint, sculpt, weave or garden is important.

I believe I am resilient, confident, courageous and optimistic. In my mind, I think about what those mean and how I express them. From an internal frame of reference, those characteristics find their way into my life externally.  Whether I am reading, writing, listening, walking, traveling, talking, cooking, eating, working, or at rest, those mental resources are in my bank for withdrawal as needed.

Emotions play a big role as “the heart has reasons of which the mind knows nothing.”  (Goethe)   Feelings that arise have names that are clues about where we are in the moment that can either facilitate or delay the next step. Examples are calm and confident, versus nervous and fearful. Or excited and eager versus depressed and disinterested. It’s important to name the feeling, define how it is affecting us and then use it to take that next step.

To forget or ignore the spiritual dimension will miss the most important aspect, the Spirit of creativity.  It is here where I find and connect to my Source of inspiration, the very breath of life. Inspire means literally to breathe into and see how and where we connect with Creation and Creator, by whatever name we call it is critical. There are many names from many cultures and histories. Live with the one that works for you.

There are no rules or regulations about how to proceed creatively. For many of us, that is the freedom to explore, to experiment, to see what works and what doesn’t and why.  We need to be courageous and confident to step into unknown territory without a map or GPS to guide us.  Wait a minute! There is an internal GPS, one that centers us where we are and helps us to find what Bill George refers to as our “true north.”   

True North is our inner sense, our calling, of what we want to accomplish in our life. It’s a combination of our values, our beliefs, and our purpose. It keeps us on track that’s true for each of us. And it’s different for every person. There are no two people for whom True North is the same.  I like to think of people with a purpose beyond themselves, moving forward.

We can respond to Joseph Campbell’s invitation to “follow your bliss…. and you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.”  I found it also with M.C Richards and “Centering.”  I had the privilege of knowing M.C.in the last years of her life at the Camp Hill Village Kimberton Hills, PA.  She was among the most creative people I knew personally.  She was a teacher, a writer, poet, painter, potter, storyteller. A magnificent person. As a memorial tribute to M.C. watch this brief, 4 minute video, “The Fire Within”

Now tell me what fuels your creative spirit, what sparks your curiosity and what you want to do to fulfill your desire to create.  To be part of this ongoing Creation and find yourself at home within, who would you like to be and what would you like most to do?  That is your story to create, to tell and to write if you choose that medium of expression. There are many other forms to consider as well.

What inspires you?

What and where are your best sources?

What is your creative process and practice? 

Is it a long-time practice or have you come to it recently?

Do you feel like you are on the growing edge or do you feel stuck?

What is your biggest challenge to be doing what you most want to do?

·      Words to accompany the featured image.  If you like it, sing it.

“Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze
Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

What words of wisdom can I give them?
How can I help to ease their way?
Now they must learn from one another
Day by day.”