My mother always said about my fiancee, who was an artist, “Oh you are so artistic!” When she said this, mom implied that she herself had no artistic ability whatsoever. Many people don’t think of themselves as being creative because they think creativity is something that you are either born with or not. On the contrary, creativity is a force that is always available and is simply unused.
People actually are always creative because the very nature of existence is that things are constantly being created or destroyed. Destruction is simply another kind of creation, a transition from one creation to another. In this way, everything can be though of as being creative. All you can do in life then is to be creative. You may not become a great artist, but you are a unique individual and are creative. You have put the pieces of life together in a particular way that will never be matched by anyone else. You are creative just being yourself.
Creativity is you expressing yourself fully. This can occur in an artistic pursuit, but can also happen in your dealings with people, in your work, or in virtually everything you do, including tying your shoelaces; I like the over-the-bow technique.
The mark of a creative person is their ability to put together things that most people would think just don’t go together. One way to get someone to laugh is to present something totally unexpected to a given situation. You might be outrageous by doing the opposite of what you have led your audience to expect. An example is for me to explain that I have a great technique for sufferers of anxiety attacks that involves the patient seating themselves in front of a mirror and vigorous slapping their cheeks with both hands, while they yell loudly, “Cut it out!” That is creative; it’s definitely original. Some people would not consider it funny, however.
The usual idea of being creative suggests that people need to enjoy your creations. Two levels of creativity are then apparent. The basic level is you just truly being yourself where you let it all hang out. The next level is you expressing yourself, but taking into account how others will respond. The first level will lead to deep peace and joy within yourself spiritually. The second level, no better or worse than the first, will bring more material success.
A frequent problem of artists is that they are so engaged in expressing themselves that they give no consideration to how others will respond to what they do. They need to consider the level of creativity that includes the basic creativity of expressing oneself, but also includes satisfying the buying public. Success comes when you discover what you love to do and realize there are enough different things you love that at least one will help you make a good living.
Many people reach a roadblock when they think they ca not put together what they do well to satisfy the public. Anything can be put together what they do well to satisfy the public. Anything can be put together with something else, but the way they are put together is the critical difference. Perhaps this is best understood in terms of people with different personalities. If someone has a similar personality, you could do a lot of the same things together, but you might also both compete for the same things when there is a limited quantity. If someone had an opposite personality, you may not do a lot of the same things together, but you might also complement each other and fill in where the other has weaknesses. Thus you can see how you could put together two people that were very similar and two people who were very different and it could still work either way. For a relationship to work, both individuals must see the unique quality of the relationship and desire it. They would then be aligned. Whether it is people, paints, musical notes or words, there is always a way to put it together that will bring out your personal creativity ad a good outcome that is pleasing.
The toughest part to creativity is letting yourself come through to others. Start by realizing how unique you are. Do what makes you feel good without any concern for how people will take it as long as it does not directly affect them adversely. Become aware of the way that you see the world and do not let that get in the way of your creative process; this entails suspending your usual concepts and letting something else come through. Meditation does much to clear the mind, but perhaps it does more to make you aware of what is there already, which you gave no attention to before. When looking at thoughts, you may not have considered what is going on in between your thoughts. This is when something original may come through.
The Taoists urge you to return to the “uncarved block” of your primordial mind. From this blank slate can come all the greatest creativity. When you have no preconceptions, then anything can happen. When faced with any great challenge, you are open to the wonderful creative ability of Nature, the Universe, or God.