Have you ever read An Awesome Book?
You should. Then come back.
...
Did it remind you of Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss? For me it's one of those inspiring books that makes you think of how big life is.
What is it that kills our creativity? Okay, maybe kills is a strong word. Maims? I remember standing at the kid-check station at my first job at Chuck E. Cheese's for hours at a time. I wasn't bored out of my mind, though; I was writing. I was writing lyrics, random words on pages, thinking and dreaming for no reason.
Some days are still like that. Wednesday morning is a good example, when I was thinking about my book and couldn't stop it. But that's one area of life. What about the rest of it?
The last thing I ever wanted to do was have a normal 9-5 job. In high school that sounded like a prison sentence. Then I realized that if I wasn't working 9-5, I'd probably have to work all the times that everyone else is off. And so it happens, I'm a server. And it seems like I'm worse off than working "normal" hours. So much for creativity without foresight.
I think creativity is blocked when we don't make time for it. If you don't have free time, you won't have time to think freely. Creativity is un-American. It defies the values of efficiency and productivity. It isn't an assembly line, there's no guarantee on it, and it's just plain inefficient.
I wrote a song the other day. My roommate said it sounded good. I said I wrote it in about an hour, which really impressed him. I took myself off his pedestal by adding, "If you think of how long it's been since I've written, and how many times I've tried, that song really took about a year to write." It's true. Creativity is not an efficient process.
Even planning church services is difficult when there isn't enough time to create. There are so many things that need to get done during the week, and only so many hours to do them in, and when there's no time to add life to the liturgy, it falls flat. Rightly so. We know what needs to be done as far as songs, prayers, message, etc. We could be more creative with it all. But some weeks the time just isn't there.
Most people I know book their lives solid. Each hour in each day is accounted for. It's all blocked up and blocked in. Most people think I live the same way. Most everyone thinks I'm always busy. I have a secret.
That's not entirely true.
Yes, I've got my life scheduled out. I know where I'll be every day at certain times. But some of those times are blocked out as "me" time. Friday mornings? Those are reserved. Monday and Saturday nights? Same thing. These are times when I do homework, read, write, sit, think, imagine, study, eat, pray, love (*groan*), or do whatever makes me feel alive. It's a good thing.
As my sister reminded me, it's a great thing our parents encouraged creativity in our lives. Now we're all creative and don't make much money. They joke and say, "We should have encouraged y'all to be rich!" And we all share a laugh, knowing that none of us would prefer wealth over what we have. Of course, if I could have both I might not complain.
Do you make time for creativity in your life? What's your outlet?
6 comments:
Pottery painting, doodling, singing through life (I swear Vic thinks life's a musical), taking pictures... that's what comes to mind first :o)
I think part of creativity is partly squelched by our brain naturally classifying data. As we get older, the clearer and clearer our boxes get. The cool thing about kids is that they don't even have boxes yet. Yesterday we went to go see a community musical and this morning I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up... "I want to be a play" He doesn't see limitations, just fun. No fear, just desire.
Yawn. To bed with me.
Vero - LOL, that's amazing! "I want to be a play." I love it.
I guess there is that whole psychological side. I often catch myself putting things in boxes and get frustrated, like, "Why do I do that?" I've learned a lot about how to identify my assumptions about things, which helps me get behind them and break them down. Oh deconstruction.
Those sound like fun activities though. I sang about 40% of my work day, lol. :) We must be related.
Oh, Dan Lugo. This is the very first "blog article" of yours that I have read. And it speaks right to my heart, no joke.
America is not supportive of creativity. So often I find myself stuck, not doing homework, because all I want to do is what I now consider fun: writing snail mail, listening to music, sleeping, coloring, playing guitar/piano, reading poetry and my Paste magazine to learn about the newest music, and read sections of the Bible sporadically. These are all things that soothe my soul and ease my mind while I do them...that lasts until I realize how much time I have "wasted" (bad word to use, but that's how I usually feel) by doing these fun things.
How come I can't find balance between my creative side and my hard-working school self? Are these two sides supposed to be the same person? You might just be right that I am having an identity crisis. :D
Just a sidenote, I love "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" and I just read "Oh, The Thinks You Can Think" (another Dr. Seuss favorite) for the Honors Program reading vault. Another great one for opportunity and creativity's sakes.
Thanks for making me think! I'm so glad to know that you have this resource now!
Leah - Isn't it funny that spending time on those things is considered "wasting"? It's really not, but many of us have been programmed that way. Marva Dawn has a book about worship called "A Royal Waste of Time," which I think is an amazing title, though I'd lie if I said I had read it. (It does look impressive on my shelf.)
I'm gonna say those two sides are supposed to be the same person, and learning discipline in one may lead to discipline in the other as well. As far as balance, that's one of the best parts of undergrad - learning life skills like time management. It's often not what you learn in class, but what you learn because of it that benefits you most later on.
Oh the thinks you can think? wow. I'm way behind!
Dan and Leah:
I'd add that when working with the creative side and the hard-working school side, we need to remember that nurturing one nurtures the other.
When I was in undergrad, I was considered completely crazy (to be fair, I'm still considered quite crazy) 'cause I had academic, athletic, and artistic pursuits.
But what people didn't realize is that I needed all those things to be me. Cutting out soccer (or writing or violin or ultimate or singing, etc.) would negatively affect my studies, even though most people think the extra time would be a benefit.
But it's time gained at the expense of self - and that's not a cost I'm willing to pay.
Lauren - I can see that. Even now, serving at a restaurant isn't something I love, but for some reason it's a part of me that, after I do it, helps me do all the other things better.
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