WHY CREATIVITY?
l believe creativity is good for all people. I believe most people start out instinctively creative. Little by little the world either criticizes them or they get older are encouraged to think of something more practical.
While the arts are considered a risky career it is interesting how the moment we have spare time we run to a concert, to a museum, to a movie, or we lose our selves in a novel. All this entertainment is the result of great creativity. Imagine how sterile our lives would be if no one had taken the creative path. How little we would know about our history. We are lucky we that this need to create is part of our DNA and that some followed this path.
While there are those devote their lives to creativity there are others who yearn for some internal creative freedom. They wish to be expressive and they just don’t know how. Most of our education and our working lives train the left hemisphere of our brains. Our left hemisphere is verbal, it is detail oriented, it is analytic, linear, sequential and it is concerned with the past and the future. It is critical of all things that are not practical and efficient. It is usually the captain of the brain.
When I teach people to paint, my goal is instruct but more importantly I wish to inspire people to find courage and to have an authentic experience. By learning a new creative language this strengthens the right hemisphere of your brain. This is the visual, more intuitive part of ourselves that is creative, empathic, it sees the big picture and it revels in the present. It is where connection and happiness resides.
While it is true that both parts of our minds are endlessly working together in our daily lives. However, by doing intentionally creative activities the Right hemisphere gets stronger and more nimble. It is like going to the gym and being able to walk further as a result of exercising. By learning a creative language you allow the Left brain to move from captain position to co-pilot with the Right brain. As a result you have what Daniel Pink calls a “Whole New Mind”. You begin to see the world through a new lense of possibilities. New perspectives, ideas and solutions become available.
My students tell me that after taking painting classes they seem to appreciate the magic of the present moment in a whole new light. They see and experience life differently. Life is a bit amplified. I knew a doctor who decided to take painting class. One day she looked up at a painting in her home that she had disliked for years. Suddenly it was as if she saw a whole new painting. She loved it and appreciated so many new levels of its beauty that she could not previously see! She marveled at how different life seemed.
So I ask you what is it that you are curious about but don’t have time to discover. Keep it small, chip away at it. Pick up a pencil or pick up that instrument that has not been played in a while. Cook a new recipe or maybe sign up for a class you are curious about. It does not have to be perfect. Go for it! Your authentic self is ready for a new journey. MG