I’ve always considered myself to be a creative person. It’s also fair to say that I’ve seen my creativity as my most valuable trait—a prized possession, or an indispensable tool. As such, I cared for it and honed it over the years. In that time I came to depend on it heavily. I even started to identify myself by my creativity—it became who I was. So much so, that if I had ever been faced with losing that aspect of my personality I might have lost myself as well.
Yet, as important as my creativity was, I never once questioned where it came from or even what it was. I had simply (and quite arrogantly) assumed that I had “created” it. It was a part of me. I had developed it over the years with effort, experience and talent. Hadn’t I?
Strangely, when I did go looking for it, I couldn’t find it. I desperately wanted to touch it, to feel it and to assure myself that my creativity was safe and sound inside me. Maybe I wanted one of those “creative bones” that people talked about. I was more than willing to put up the down payment on a prime piece of real estate somewhere in my brain reserved just for my creativity. You know, a nice plot of gray matter, overlooking my cerebellum, where I could go whenever I wanted to write or draw.
The problem was that my creativity never really felt like it came from me—not really. My best moments of inspiration came and went in a blur, leaving something wonderful behind without a clear memory of how I had done it. Sometimes, if I wasn’t fast enough to capture the inspiration on paper, the idea would be lost. How could this be if I was the one creating? If I was in fact the source of the inspiration?
What if I was fooling myself? What if I was not the source of my creations? Had all my creativity come from somewhere else—outside of me? And where did that leave my identity? Who was I if I wasn’t the creative person I thought I was? Could I continue to write or was I just faking it?
If you do a quick web search about creativity you will find hundreds (if not thousands) of web pages describing rational, scientific explanations involving theories of psychology, determinant factors of intelligence, circumstance and chemical reactions. People have written volumes, presented workshops and lectures all detailing impossibly complicated conditions under which creativity occurs internally—within the person. Now you might think that this would have reassured me. My creativity was, in fact, tucked away somewhere inside me. Science said so! According to the research creativity is “simply” a matter of having just the right timing, education, talent, relationships and happenstance with a few chemicals and neurons thrown in for good measure. But this didn’t sound right either. If it were all so complicated then inspiration would have never gotten out of the gate and creativity would have died a terrible death centuries ago.
No, as much as my Ego wanted to hold onto my own creativity, it seemed less likely that it is was internal biological process. So I was left with the alternative—I was not the source of my creations. Something else was.
The concept that creativity flows to us, rather than from us, isn’t new. The Greeks (the forefathers of modern creativity and art) saw inspiration as a dish offered up by the Muses—invisible guides directing the artist’s hand. Michelangelo said that his famous sculpture “David” already existed, hidden inside the marble. All he had to do was chip away the pieces that didn’t belong. An intelligent Roman did not consider himself a genius but rather believed he had access to a Genius or Genii, a spirit being whose purpose was to direct and instruct.
Now, it’s not necessary for us to start believing in unseen beings and voices to grasp the concept of external inspiration. But, I’ve learned to appreciate ancient traditions and beliefs for what they are—attempts to explain unseen processes by way of stories. They can help us to see creativity in a different way. One that is less Ego-driven.
The Ego weighs us down with things like pride, fear and doubt. All of which block creativity. It is very difficult to create from a place of Ego. It comes with far too much baggage. In contrast, if we see creativity more like energy—a force that does not originate from us, but through us, we simply need to remain open to receive that energy. And as it passes through us it is released in wonderful by-products: novels, paintings, poetry, music and just about everything else created.
Creative energy is in a constant state of movement through us. But it can only be expressed when we open up to it. Call it what you like: Source, Sub-conscious mind, Tao, The Field, God. Every tradition has a name for it. What’s important is that we recognize it.
In this way, I believe we can all (and do) access creativity. The only difference is that some of us tend to block it, while others accept and use it. Creativity is not complicated at all—it comes down to a very simple question: are you open or closed?
So the first step in becoming more creative is to understand that you can’t. Creativity is not something that can ever be possessed, it can only be accepted and released. This is how we truly create.
If you believe that you don’t have a creative bone in your body, you might instead ask yourself how you could be blocking this natural flow of energy.
Next week I’ll start to explore these blocks one at a time and in more detail. I’ll also be offering suggestions on how to unblock them. Until then, thanks for visiting.To read more of my work please visit my blog or check out my book “My Happy Workplace.” now free for download at Smashwords. If you have any questions or comments drop me a line at: troy_roache@hotmail.com.