Reclaiming Creativity

Creativity is how we reframe and redefine our world.  It is how we express our joys, fears, interests, hates, passions, frustrations…  It is how we feed our curiosity, learning, understanding, artistry, craftsmanship, resiliency, social connections…  It is a profound part of our conscious and unconscious being.  It is an everyday part of our lives.

Quite simply, we are all creative in some way.  We all, at some point, present alternatives to what currently exists and, by so doing, reframe our life and our world in both big and small ways.  And yet, for too long Creativity has been hijacked by profits, distorted as a marketing tool, and enslaved by the latest “it” crowd.  It is time to stop the madness and start reclaiming creativity for the masses.

So here is the truth about creativity.

Creativity Is Ordinary Not Extraordinary

While the standard definition of “creativity” — “the ability to create” or “the state or quality of being creative” — gives the impression of something extraordinary and accessible only to an enlightened few, the definition of “create” is merely “to bring into existence” or “to produce or bring about by a course of action or behavior.”  We are all a part of bringing things into existence daily.

“We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.”

— Abraham Maslow

Creativity Is Evolutionary Process Not One-Off Events

Creativity is how each of us uses our knowledge and curiosity to imagine an alternative to what exists and through art, construction, invention, etc. connect this alternative to our current reality.  And, it is through this creative process that we change, reframe, and redefine — if only a little, our current reality and all possible futures.

“Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results – the only thing it craves is the process.”

 – Elizabeth Gilbert

Creativity is Collective Not Solo

Creativity is how each of us builds upon what exists and frames the floor for what is next.  It is an evolutionary process of inspiring inputs and outputs.  It is not and never can be only one thing, one person, or one act.

Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”

— George Kneller

Creativity is Connectivity Not Originality

Creativity is how each of us brings curiosity, imagination and reality together.  It is how these connections redefine what exists, how our creative endeavors connect to our reality, and how they connect to the reality of others that give them value in our society.  True originality is a near impossibility in a world with 7.5 billion humans (106 billion since the dawn of the human species).  Not to mention that nature and the universe have already preceded us in every action, story, work of art, invention…

“Creativity is just connecting things.”

— Steve Jobs

Creativity Is Opportunity Not Necessity

Creativity is how each of us expands our world through open thoughts and open doors.  If necessity was a key to creativity, all the world’s problems would already be solved.

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.”

— Albert Einstein

Creativity Is Every One Not Special Ones

Creativity is how we interact with each other and within every facet of our lives.

“Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity that you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach – how you look at things . . .”

— Osho

Do you see a need for reclaiming creativity?

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