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I've been thinking lately about what it means to be creative. I have no definitive answers about that. I'm no expert, and I haven't even done my research properly (which usually includes reading several books and scholarly papers).
I've been thinking about it because I don't have the answer. I'm trying. I'm doing a pack on creativity on my amazing meditation app, Headspace. It's lovely, and it had worked for me before, so maybe doing that pack again will help me find my creative spark. I'm also reading a book called "The Unstoppable Creative" by Todd Brison, who also wrote "The Creative's Curse"--I'll write a book review soon, promise. By the way, if you're interested in what I read, come on over to Goodreads and be my friend :)
There's talk about "a maker's schedule" which consists of long clear chunks of time to work on something amazing. I don't do that because I have kids and they need food. They do, it's not something the media had made up. I checked. They also need a grown up to talk to every day. I mean, maybe it's just my kids. Anyone who has met them know they talk a lot. But I hear it's good for kids to be listened to.
There's talk about "the medium doesn't matter". What matters is the message. Well, the medium matters to me, for several reasons. First, I write. That's what I do. I have no intention of drawing to explain my message because I can't see how to convey any message with the things I'm capable of drawing (a tree, a butterfly, a flower, and a smiley sun). Second, I kind of think if I started to make music, for instance, as my creative outlet, it would take up a lot of my writing time. Because, as I said, I have kids who need food. I don't have unlimited time. This is becoming rather a dilemma for me because I now have this fantastic opportunity to record an album. It's awesome, and I'm looking forward to it, but I don't foresee a pivot in occupation for me, because then I don't think I'll be able to write, and I like writing. That said, I didn't see the pivot in occupation from researcher to flakey artist, so there's that.
There's talk about "creative multitasking" which is the idea that creativity benefits from taking a break and working on something else for a while. I've talked about that last time. I'm still not convinced that I should put my project aside. Today I tried to attack it from a different angle, and I actually made some progress. So, it could be that I'm the kind of person whose creativity gets distracted by working on several things simultaneously. Who knows?
And there's the crux of it. Nobody knows. People are guessing, and some people guess better than others, and they become best-sellers or creativity gurus. But ultimately, you need to find a way that works for you. Nobody has the answers. There's no manual.
Which can suck. But on the other hand, it's kind of cool, too. Because there really are no rules. Well, there are no rules for creativity. You gotta feed your kids.
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