“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
– Osho
We’re born creative, however, we are not alike in our creativity. We use our creativity in different ways and in different areas of life. The only mistake when thinking about creativity, is thinking we don’t have any. Here’s a fun exercise: Think of five things you could do with a new box of crayons. Now notice how thinking of those five things made you feel. If you laughed at the silliness of your ideas, you’re feeling one of the positive benefits of creativity and you didn’t have to write a single sentence or draw a single line.
Creativity comes in all shapes. What you just engaged in is a sample of the practical, problem-solving kind that we engage in every day. Why is creativity important in everyday life? It is because it makes life infinitely interesting and fulfilling. Creativity is a way of living life that embraces originality and makes unique connections between seemingly disparate ideas. Creativity is about living life as a journey into seeing and communicating the extra-ordinariness of the simplest, most every day acts.
According to “The Creativity Workshop”, human beings are essentially born creative — from infancy on we find innovative ways to negotiate life. The most creative people find ways around obstacles because they see them not just as roadblocks but also as opportunities. Creativity expands our perceptions and along with expanded perceptions come new ways of problem solving — from making an exquisite meal when you don’t know how to cook to painting an extraordinary landscape when you are living in a freezing attic and can’t afford a full box of paints.
Lastly, creativity may help you build better relationships. Imagining how things look through another person’s eyes can enhance your empathy and understanding. And deciding to try a different way of responding than usual when someone irritates or annoys is a creative way to avoid difficulties.
– Jessica Smith, B.S.