Act Of Creativity

SHUBHAM

And thats a question I am always asked.  What is creativity ? What is the creative act ? What defines you differently from others if you are defining yourself as creative ?

Well .. let me say upfront .. The creative person is not born different.  Every child is creative. They satisfy everything that would define creativity.  They are constantly observing.  They are constantly exploring. They are not taking anything as a given. Everything is new and not prejudiced by experience.

Lets get deeper ..

They do not condition the experience of the now, of this moment by prejudices built upon past experiences.  Nor are they projecting the past into the future. The future is to be explored unfettered by memories ..

And most importantly ..

They will take the next step forward .. not knowing what will happen .. if they fall they will still take the next step forward .. how else will they learn to walk ? They are not afraid to explore the unknown ..

Now you may say they need to learn.  That the skills they develop over time, to depend on the experiences of the past to project the future are mere survival skills .. or they will constantly skid on the proverbial Banana Peel.  Of course.

Yet I could define creative people as those that hold on to that child like quality.  Those that that retain an ability to explore the unknown.  Those that do not allow the past experiences to prejudice their decision making or their exploration of new ideas, of new thoughts. New discoveries or explorations into new horizons.

We do get called dreamers.  We do get called stupid. We do get called impractical ( to the normal world we are).  We fall in love all too easily. We chase thoughts and dreams all too easily and like children we fall over and get hurt all the time. But we still chase dreams for they are bigger than the hurt .. I cant imagine a child not trying to walk if it gets hurt a few times ..

We gloss over the practicalities of life and somehow believe that the Universe ( and indeed God, for those of us that believe in it) is on our side .. even if all practical evidence points to the an interpretation that its not !!

So what makes us different .. what makes us (in other people’s eyes) irresponsible .. ? What makes us revel in uncertainty and be provoked by the adventure of the unknown ?