Being Creative
There is a commercial on television portraying two ladies Face-timing each other about a business luncheon. As one lady asks the other what to wear the phone reception gets fuzzy on the words:“Don’t worry it’s not a costume party.” The other woman only hears: “It’s a costume party.” As a result of poor reception, she comes to the meal boldly confident in a ridiculous costume. From the looks on everyone’s faces and their business attire, she suddenly realizes she heard the message all wrong.
The awkward exchanged between the rest of the business people and the costumed lady is not lost on me. In fact, I have felt just like her many times. Creatively speaking, feeling like an odd ball with off-the-wall ideas is normal for me. When I get inspired and share the visions in my head with others I almost wonder if I have a cornucopia sitting on top of my head.
Being creative can sometimes get misunderstood by others. I know that I have often felt just a little too different. As a result, I am tempted to stuff down the dreams. Unfortunately, in my effort to conform, I’m left with only bland ideas.
This is very stifling.
With a lot of coffee, I have declared that I am a writer, singer, songwriter, artist, musician, actress, and playwright. Some of these pursuits panned out while others did not, but to kill that dreamer is to kill all dreams.
Life has a way of shaking the child out of each one of us. It is easy to get so serious that all sorts of fun, color, and humor leave our faces and bodies until all that is left is a droopy old person with a long face of frown lines that sag to the ground. It’s hard to be creative and stay on task- I am getting off topic.
The truth for me right now is: I just need to write. This is my current creative dream. What is yours? Come on now, I know you have something stirring inside.
Because I believe in creativity I am making space to write. To me, it is like walking through the park with a handful of helium balloons. They are colorful and willful in the breeze. If you let go even for a second they are off into the air and gone. They are colorful little imps flying away to the fluffy white clouds without looking back. I am forcing myself to sit down in the writer’s chair and hold unto those balloons.
This is not just for me. When I see the creative wheels turning in someone else I sit back and marvel. When I see their eyes light up as they share what they are doing I want to cheer, ‘Go for it, you are doing great.”
Imagination comes natural to children. I love the wonder in my son’s eyes when he plays with his toys. There is always a hero and always a bad guy. His story can go all day as he transforms the coffee table into a pit of lava. I remember the power of my own childish imagination, but as an adult I have to really dig deep to go there with him. It’s like I am afraid of losing myself there. With the constant demand of a to-do list is there time left to set aside to be Creative?
Yes! but only if we become intentional about it.
To be creative is to take the risk of failure. In the risk lies the silver lining of discovering new possibilities. I want to take this challenge even if it means showing up to the business meeting in a ridiculous costume.
“The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity”