Where Creativity?
I just happened to chance upon a "Michaels" bag wedged in between the flotsam & jetsom that takes up an annoying amount of space in my room. Michaels is an arts and crafts supply store where one can purchase everything from canvasses and paintbrushes to plastic dinosaurs for use in dioramas. I usually avoid going there because of the sheer amount of stuff I have already purchased from there, but on occassion I'll still find myself roaming its scented aisles and perusing through its inventory of frames, sketchpads, and candle warmers. It wasn't until I saw this bright red Michaels bag however that I noticed its intriguing tag line, "Where Creativity Happens." So I asked myself, where DOES creativity happen?
I propose that ideally creativity happens within oneself. Oh sure, many of us wait for inspiration, while a good many more folks won't type a letter or scrape a pen across a blank sheet of paper until they've been bitten on the ass by their muse. There are poets who will write only after suffering some sort of tragedy in their lives. This is all well and good as far as motivation and sheer talent are concerned, but where does the creativity happen?
Dieter F. Uhctdorf, a German aviator and religious leader, once stated, "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." And there you have it... or not. I happen to agree with good ol' Dieter however. Speak at length with almost any writer and their passion for the written word becomes clear. So is creativity a product of passion? I believe that the two could be inextricably intertwined. Some of the world's finest songs, poems, stories and books were written either while the author was in love, heartbroken, or otherwise in some sort of distress. Joy, happiness, and feelings of well-being can also bring on bouts of creative energy.
So creativity, in essence, exists in all of us and can be expressed in countless ways. It must be a product of the soul, a miraculous well which we can dip into in order to produce that which allows us to express our most intimate selves to the world. It can't be taught in a classroom, or bought in a retail shop (sorry Michaels). It is a part of the human psyche, a part of ourselves: deep and abiding.
You. It's you. You are where creativity happens.
I propose that ideally creativity happens within oneself. Oh sure, many of us wait for inspiration, while a good many more folks won't type a letter or scrape a pen across a blank sheet of paper until they've been bitten on the ass by their muse. There are poets who will write only after suffering some sort of tragedy in their lives. This is all well and good as far as motivation and sheer talent are concerned, but where does the creativity happen?
Dieter F. Uhctdorf, a German aviator and religious leader, once stated, "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." And there you have it... or not. I happen to agree with good ol' Dieter however. Speak at length with almost any writer and their passion for the written word becomes clear. So is creativity a product of passion? I believe that the two could be inextricably intertwined. Some of the world's finest songs, poems, stories and books were written either while the author was in love, heartbroken, or otherwise in some sort of distress. Joy, happiness, and feelings of well-being can also bring on bouts of creative energy.
So creativity, in essence, exists in all of us and can be expressed in countless ways. It must be a product of the soul, a miraculous well which we can dip into in order to produce that which allows us to express our most intimate selves to the world. It can't be taught in a classroom, or bought in a retail shop (sorry Michaels). It is a part of the human psyche, a part of ourselves: deep and abiding.
You. It's you. You are where creativity happens.
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