How Embracing Creativity Changed my Life
Modern life is hectic. As adults, most of us are consumed by attempting to keep up with the pressures and demanding pace of everyday living. We work long hours, try to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, squeeze in a few time blocks to maintain a social life and hopefully get some rest in between. While many challenges result from this fast-paced life, the general lack of activities that nurture our sense of creativity appears to be widespread and not frequently addressed or discussed.
So, what is creativity? It is any activity that requires the use of the imagination or original ideas, such as the production of an artistic work such as a sketch or painting, a piece of writing, or even building a structure out of Legos. Research shows that creativity helps build new connections between different regions of the brain which enhances our mental health and problem-solving abilities. It also assists with processing difficult emotions and heightens self-awareness as it helps us explore aspects of ourselves that are often dormant or that we normally choose to not look at.
I discovered my love for painting in 2019. Having felt that no matter what I tried, there was always a gap, an emptiness that seemed to resurface anytime I settled into my being. I found myself doodling more and more whenever my mind would wander. On Sundays, I would make sketches and spend hours coloring them. Nothing elaborate. I had no ulterior agenda from doing it. In fact, I never thought of myself as a painter or even believed that I had any skills or talents to support that. It was not something I had tried previously. I just knew that it made me peaceful and put me in a flow state that almost felt meditative, so I kept doing it.
By the end of 2019, I realized that the happiness and enjoyment I was getting from painting meant that it was worth investing in, so I bought some real art supplies (vs. the pens and markers I was using up until that point) and threw myself into it. I was experimenting with colors and subjects; I was allowing the brush to speak. No structure, no pressure, just pure expression. I have been regularly painting since and exploring a skill that I never imagined myself appreciating.
It dawned on me that I had a massive creative energy dormant in my spirit and that by ignoring it and not letting it flow through, I was inhibiting my full expression as a human being. So, here are some things that allowing creativity back into my life has done for me:
1- It’s okay to make mistakes.
There is no right formula to art. It is the imperfection that makes the art. However, we operate in an environment that is contradictory to that premise. Even the schooling system that is currently in place stigmatizes mistakes and therefore represses children’s willingness to put themselves in situations where they could make them. This has a direct negative correlation with the ability to be creative. Even standardized tests which have been a significant factor in determining which paths and choices we have in directing our life promote staying within the lines, coloring within the lines.
This reminds me of a saying by Thomas Edison which I have been reflecting on lately: “I make more mistakes than anyone else I know, and sooner or later, I patent most of them.” In essence, If we do not allow ourselves the freedom to operate within an environment where mistakes can happen, then we are significantly restricting what we can achieve within any given situation.
A moment that sticks to my mind is when I was making a rather intricately detailed painting and my hands were not stable enough to make the perfectly clear pattern I had in mind. I remember freezing up and feeling anxiety rise up in me as if I had a hit a wall. I thankfully had quick awareness of the internal process that was taking place. I reminded myself that there is no perfect way for this painting to come out. It was going to be what I make it to be. I used my shaky hand to make a pattern that would accommodate the lack of stability and just rolled with it. When done, I felt that the results were more satisfying than I had imagined.
It was a pivotal moment in allowing my self-expression to flow freely. I am imperfect and my art will reflect who I am and that is what makes it MY art. Being forgiving of our own imperfections and differences from the mental ideal we have of ourselves is an act of self-compassion. Radical self-acceptance.
2- The joys of having a beginner’s mind.
Putting myself in a space where I am trying something completely new and not restricted by existing structures allowed me to see the world with fresh eyes. Lately, I find myself being much more tuned in to the newness that is present in every moment as I look for new inspiration for my paintings.
Diving into the unknown world of painting has taught to perceive beyond the mental models that I have built so far, even to view myself differently. I now have a new piece of identity that has developed and with it comes a new sense of freshness to all my experiences. Also, exploring a field where I had no previous experience, brought back the excitement and pleasure of learning something new. A feeling that becomes more and more unfamiliar and infrequent as we move further into adulthood.
It makes me feel like a child again with the same sense of wonder and excitement at seeing my skills developing and exploring what this new venture will bring; and that is a wonderful feeling! Have you seen how happy children are just being whoever they are, doing whatever they are doing?
3- Quick access to a flow state.
Painting allowed me to quickly reach a type of deep meditative experience. I have been meditating regularly for many years now. However, the process to get into a deep meditation always required a steady frequency and a somewhat long lead time. While painting, I was fully immersed in the process and would often lose any sense of time which is similar to my experiences of deep meditation. It left me with a naturally emerging sense of peace and satisfaction.
This feeling of being so absorbed in a creative activity that you lose track of time is nurturing to the spirit. It is peace from the constant flow of thoughts that most of us work diligently to tame; the monkey mind.
4- Doing something for the simple pleasure of it.
Painting allowed me to drop the need for a utilitarian end result in opposition to how the modern world programs us. We are taught to aim for productivity while following linear thinking. We are molded early on to think of our efforts in terms of their end results. Not just any end results, but those that society deems to be worthy and of value. I threw that out of the window!
5- Tapping into higher intelligence.
Being creative has given me a glimpse into higher consciousness. Realizing all the intricacies that arise from the process of creation, how involved I am in it, and the pure pleasure that comes out of seeing the end result of MY mind’s vision and creative process has given me a brand new appreciation for the perfection and purposefulness of all things.
As I look at my paintings, I am struck by the insight that we are made exactly how we are for a reason. It all serves a purpose and adds to the aesthetic of the final work. Also, when inspecting my paintings, I find myself appreciating every little aspect of their composition and feeling a deep emotional connection to them. It makes me think of the amount of love we are created with and that we continue to hold as we move through life. Our own creation is a labor of love and we continue to be connected and loved for exactly who we are.
Before I close, I would like to address a common misconception that some us are naturally creative while others simply are not. A study on creativity by George Land showed that among 5-year old children, 98% of participants were considered creative with that number dropping to 2% at the age of 15 for the same group. So, creativity is not something we either possess or not, it is something we are born with and lose over time as we become more aware of society’s expectations. Expectations that tend to have the effect of normalizing our experience.
As we move on the journey from childhood to adulthood, we are rewarded for following social norms and ways of being and stigmatized when we stray from them. We encounter models for what is expected of us, how we should behave, and what we can and cannot contribute within those frameworks. As a result, creativity becomes a process that makes us stand out when a large number of the cues we receive are guiding us towards fitting in. It is no wonder that this trait is often underdeveloped and neglected by most adults.
In the end, I hope this post inspires you to try something new and reintroduce creativity into your life and that of the people around you. I will leave you to reflect on this little nugget of wisdom from Steve Jobs:
“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your job is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
