Understanding Creativity Part 3

We are all blessed with the gift of creativity but our creative spark often wanes under the constant bombardment of our environment as it seeks to normalise us. The end result is that we become part of the cultural norm as we ignore our ability to think independently and to challenge, thus falling in line with common thinking and conventional wisdom.  We easily become part of the conforming and non-creative masses. But we do not have to spend the rest of our lives in this state because we can always release our creativity. Our creative spirit is always there, waiting to be reclaimed.

 

The first step in reclaiming our creativity is to awaken to our normalised state of existence. Try answering the following questions:

Are you curious and imaginative, or have you just accepted the cultural norms of your environment?

Are you someone who simply do and say things because everybody else is doing it?

Are you open to new ideas or are you close-minded and protective of the status quo?

Are you trapped in some cultural or tribal cage and accepting of dog-ma without questioning?

Are you living a prejudiced life because you have been conditioned to dislike or hate others because of their race, ethnicity, class, religion or culture?

Are you obsessed with traditions and fearful of the future?

 

If your answer to these questions is yes, then you may be trapped in some cultural cage mouthing the views of others and blindly mimicking their behaviours. It means that you have been socialised and acculturated into the norms of a specific group or culture. You are most likely non-challenging, predictable and conforming. In this conditioned state you are likely to be oblivious of your ability to think independently and creatively. Your creative spirit is blunted and you are spiritually dead or dying, but you are unaware. Are you prepared to acknowledge the suppression of your creativity? Are you prepared to work to reclaim your creative spirit? From time to time you need to step away from your normalised and often robotised existence and reflect on your life in order to find clarity on who you truly are. You, like all other humans, have the capacity to explore and to discover the truth in yourself. You can only discover your true self when you are prepared to engage in the introspection process and to look with-in. It is only then that you will dis- cover your life’s purpose and the human potential that is the consequence therefrom. It is only then that your independent thoughts will emerge and your creativity released. You are challenged to reclaim your creativity despite your history and your present environmental circumstances. You are never too old. Once you are alive you have the opportunity to discover and to reclaim your creativity. In reclaiming your creativity you have two options. Firstly, you can wait for others to free you from your non-creative existence.

 

Or, secondly, you can free yourself.  Why should anybody want to free your creativity when you are already a good and loyal follower of their group or culture? Further, if you are waiting for others, you can wait forever because control is completely out of your hands. Therefore it is your responsibility to take control and to free yourself. When you are not in control of yourself you give away control of your life to others. You live the life of others as you follow blindly. Blaming others for your plight and waiting for them to rescue you is clearly not the solution. You must be prepared to take charge of yourself. Our programme, Leading From Above The Line, is about strengthening and growing your inner self. It awakens you to the beauty of your human existence and frees you to live more moral and creative lives through the cultivation of the five sources of your inner power thus, principle consciousness, purpose, emotional mastery, understanding change and knowledge empowerment. Together, these five sources of your inner power, which I have detailed in previous columns, will nourish you internally to have the creative strength to power you to a successful and productive life. Introspection aids the process of self-discovery and the growing of your inner power. In closing I share with you another quotation from Gordon MacKenzie, author of Orbiting the Giant Hairball:  Our creative genius is the fountainhead of originality. It fires our compulsion to evolve. It inspires us to challenge norms. Creative genius is about flying to new heights on untested wings. It is about the danger of crashing. It is amorphous, magical, unmeasurable and unpredictable.

 

Next week I will deal with the challenges of being a creative person