How many people see creativity is their birthright? Who assumes it is forbidden fruit, out of reach, not there for people like them? Who feels a creative moment must be stolen when no one's looking, especially when no one's looking?
I think creativity IS our birthright. There are so many ways to be creative, not just the arts. We all have certain gifts. Some lucky dogs have the means to develop those gifts. Some poor souls don't, unless by some inexplicable act of cosmic grace they are presented with an opportunity and run with it. This is the stuff of legend.
Others do not get an opportunity, for an infinite variety of reasons. Then there are people who have the means but waste their talents. Why?
You say with blinding arrogance "Why didn't they pick themselves up by their own bootstraps?" Really? You know that's physically impossible, right? Show me a successful person and I'll show you a person who had some sort of help along the way. Even if it was only a teacher who encouraged you, an employer who took a chance and hired you, a grandmother who whispered affirmations in your ear. Or maybe you're one of those lucky dogs who ran smack dab into that inexplicable freaking opportunity referred to above?
Still, I'm writing from privilege, aren't I? There are places where hope has no home. Try to imagine. Little wonder that there are so many angry, bitter people. What a sinful waste of talent exists in a world of haves and have nots.
Is it naive to hope for a world where each and every one of us could expect to reach our creative potential? Of course it is. But still, I hope for that better world.
Hope is the thing with feathers...
ReplyDeleteI am awash with images and ideas after reading that lovely sentence. However, I'm a bit dense and don't really know what it means.
DeleteThere IS a certain luxury in being able to pursue your dreams, whatever they are -- and usually when people rely on creativity for a living, they're doing something they love to do. Some people are forced into more practical pursuits by necessity or lack of opportunity.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, exactly. But then these creative souls go out and take gorgeous and/or quirky pictures and post them on inspired blogs. Or perhaps they garden.
DeleteA creative mind is an intelligent mind. The best stories come from creative minds.
ReplyDeleteSo right.
DeleteI would love to live in a different world, the one where every one of us could reach our potential in all ways. It would be so lovely to live in that better world. We humans are such interesting beings. Some strive to only enrich themselves, others strive to enrich others in every way.
ReplyDeleteIt hurts my heart imaging all the writing, art, music, acting we are missing out on when so many people are denied this birthright.
DeleteMy oldest son wanted to be a comic book artist when he was a boy. Now he is a graphic artist who designs car ads. He can still enjoy his talent of drawing by creating comic books or animatics in his free time but he had to compromise and work a regular job to support himself. So, yes, people can be creative but they might have to compromise to enjoy it! :)
ReplyDeleteI think most people have to compromise. But bravo to him for having a job that still allows him to create, and super bravo to him to continuing to do his thing at home! I love that.
DeleteChecked in the dicca and there seems to be some confusion; creativity can even mean fibbing. I have always thought that Faulkner nailed the definition in his Nobel prizewinning address; from memory: achieving a result which did not previously exist. Thus, as you say, this is not limited to the arts. Nor even to tangible matter. Bringing about an unexpected agreement between disagreeing parties might well qualify.
ReplyDeleteBut suppose you turned your front door into firewood and replaced it with a door of your very own design. Unlike any other door of your experience. Hmm. Perhaps? But let's say you decorated it with inlay carvings representing the Ten Commandments. This seems to be moving towards the arts, so ye-e-s.
Suppose you restyled your hair bizarrely.
For me one measure of creativity is the degree of imagination involved. OK, I would say that wouldn't I? Did any of my sonnets qualify? More problematic, would any of my really bad sonnets qualify? Does an entity have to be good to qualify?
I give up.
I'm a great Emma Thompson fan. Forget her psyche, one thing that characterises her is her complete lack of vanity. If the part's a good one, she goes for it, even if she looks like Hell. Obvious in Nanny McPhee of course, but see her in Alone in Berlin where she plays a heroic drab trying to subvert the Nazis. All the more remarkable given she's drop-dead gorgeous.
And on top of that she wrote the screenplay for the movie adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility as well as starring in it. Try YouTube for her tribute to the late Alan Rickman, another of the UK's comparatively underrated actors.
Why did you not become a teacher at some point?
DeleteI think you have spent your entire life achieving creative ends. And personally, I think creativity becomes an act of faith, where we are truly mindful of the moment. So bizarre haircuts and really bad sonnets definitely qualify. It's the act, not the result. Tapping into the creative imagination is personal.
Yes, it's Emma Thompson's lack of vanity that is so compelling. Thanks for clarifying that.
Why not a teacher? What a terrible idea. The main reason: Because I was born to be a journalist and, by age 11, I'd informed my Dad this was what I wanted. With the exception of two years National Service in the RAF, this is what I did, from 15 to 60, in the UK and the USA.
DeleteAs you say, Show me a successful person and I'll show you a person who had some sort of help along the way. Yes, a supportive teacher, an employer who took a chance, parents who're in some creative area themselves. And yes, there's a sinful waste of talent among those who're not encouraged to draw on their untapped aptitudes.
ReplyDeleteSinful, indeed. Doesn't it just make you want to explore the why and the wherefore of it all?
DeleteTruthfully, I get a little anxious just reading about creativity. I know I’m suppose to be creative but have no idea how. Home decorating, planning the garden, it all does it.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is everywhere, in every activity. Definitely in home decorating, and planning a garden! You employ creativity in a mindless doodle, when you are talking on the phone. We use it when we write a blog, or answer a comment. It's a rush.
DeleteCreativity does indeed come in all stripes and shapes.
ReplyDelete