Even sensible, normal folks, who mostly think of creative people as being a bit flighty and over the top, can one day find out they’ve got a bit of the creative in themselves, too.
A person generally knows if they’re a creative from a very young age. But every once in a while, a little hiccup occurs in the fabric of space-time and an anomaly occurs … and somewhere, some sensible normal person, for whatever reason, picks up a brush, or writes a song, or starts tapping away at a keyboard.
They won’t think too much about it ... but, Hey! That was fun! Let’s do it again!
The second time, it’s not a cosmic anomaly anymore … it’s a deliberate choice.
Now you’ve done it … crossed that line from being a sensible, normal person to being a flighty creative. You know you’ve crossed the line, because, before, when the unwashed dishes and laundry called to you, you hopped right up and took care of those necessary things. Now, when the dishes and laundry call, you’re likely to ignore them … just a few more minutes … just a few more brush stokes … just another paragraph or two … we promise … we’ll be right there … just a few more minutes …
… and just like that, your fate is sealed, and there’s no going back.
Discovering your creative side later in life is an amazing thing ... well, maybe “discovering” isn’t the right word … “unleashing” might be a better choice. Because chances are that you’ve always known that side of you was there, but you were about the business of life and making a living for yourself and your family. That’s what sensible people do … they take care of the necessary things of living first, then they can go play!
Now those flighty creatives don’t seem so flighty. Now you understand where they’re coming from, and you’re so happy to be right there with them!
And you begin to understand that there’s more to creativity than you realized … the same creativity that gave us the Mona Lisa and Beethoven’s fifth symphony, also gave us indoor plumbing and took us to the moon!
Creativity makes the world work! Creativity is practical. It’s all about problem solving. It’s the part of us that figures out solutions when we’re missing an ingredient for a recipe or delegating the work to the members of a team or determining how best to manage our time. Creativity is sparked when there is a problem or a need that needs a solution.
Creativity makes our lives richer! Thus, the art, the music, the plays, movies and TV shows, and that book that kept you up all night.
Sometimes creativity is all mixed up with both the practical and the aesthetic … when we decorate our homes, pick out something to wear, landscape our yards. A box to protect us from the elements, and a few yards of cloth to keep us warm and cover our nakedness is all we actually need, but why not build and select the things that make us feel homey and peaceful and happy? Creativity turns a box made from lumber and bricks into a home!
All the while that you’ve been suppressing your creative side in favor of the important and practical side of living, you’ve actually been unknowingly engaging your creativity to get it all done!
Now you know … Oh, happy day!
Go dust off those art supplies and get that keyboard out … it’s time to tell stories!
And you can go write, draw and play with nary a care, because what you were worried about all along has disappeared in a puff of smoke ... it is possible after all to be a flighty creative AND have clean dishes and fresh laundry!