Capturing Creativity

Creativity – for some it’s an elusive term reserved for artsy friends who paint and talk about theatre.  Most of us believe that we either are, or are not, born creative.  And while it is true that many people have a much easier time expressing themselves creatively, a new book would suggest that we all have creative minds and it is more about recognizing creative moments than thinking only certain people are blessed with ah-ha moments.

I have not yet read Jonah Lehrer’s book Imagine: How Creativity Works (a small oversight considering I am writing about it) but I have been reading a lot about it in a series of articles in The Globe and Mail about creativity.  It is really quite fascinating and it confronts many of the myths we have about those ‘creative types’.  In the closing paragraphs of his book, Lehrer says, “The human mind, after all, has the creative impulse built into its operating system…”  We are all hardwired to be creative so why is it that so many feel they don’t have a creative bone in their body? 

Creativity, to me, is the physical expression of a feeling.  And those ‘creative types’ know how to express those feelings when they have them.  Whether it be through art, music, theatre, woodworking, scrapbooking, writing, design (you get the idea) people who are creative seem to know how to instinctively channel the moments of inspiration they get.  Maybe they feel more confident in revealing that side of themselves. But how did that confidence get there?  Maybe they were nurtured in a creative environment. But there are too many examples to prove this might only be a small contributing factor.

Whatever the science is that makes some people seem more creative than others is beyond me (a good reason to actually read Lehrer’s book).  And does it really matter if some people are never able to express themselves creatively? I think it does. I think it matters because everyone is made up of the feelings and thoughts and visions they have. And putting them out there, whether others see it, read it, look at it or not gives those feelings and thoughts and visions a sense of completion.  It validates them and makes them real.

I think creativity also speaks to the importance of the arts.  And when we appreciate the creativity and talents in others, we may have the opportunity to feel something we didn’t know we were capable of.  And while in the presence of someone else’s creative expression, a creative moment may be born to us. 

I was once at a dinner party hosted by a man I really respect and admire (hello Kelly Walker! Google him!). He is the kind of person that when he speaks you just want to listen because he is so full of wisdom and warmth. Anyway, after dinner, he sat down to play on his grand piano – among other things, he is an accomplished pianist.  When he started to play and sing (he also has a magnificent voice) I was overcome by the unexpected emotion that swelled in me.  It was as if the song and his voice and the piano reached right to my core and grabbed hold of me. Tears were pouring down my face. And let’s be clear – I don’t cry in public – I barely cry in private. I have no idea where this raw emotion came from. It just came and I went with it.

As I looked around the room, I expected to find everyone else having an equally emotional moment.  But no, mine were the only eyes weeping – a slightly uncomfortable moment. Point is, the music that night spoke to me and I really can’t explain why. But I loved feeling something so strong and it made me want to express myself in some, even insignificant, way.

To those of you whose creativity seeps from every pore – my enduring admiration. And if you haven’t found your creative outlet at least be open to the possibility that, after all these years, you may just have the same amount of creative bones as all of those artsy friends.

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Here is the poem I wrote about that night and the piano…

Streets of London

The delicate notes of the piano ring

The pianist moves and starts to sing

The most beautiful notes hang in the air

A moment captured, my soul bare

The piano man and his haunting song

Tell me that my tears aren’t wrong

I’ll remember this time, when a song so moved me

And took me on this most beautiful journey.