Lost Your Creative Spark?
Here is the formula you need: Space + Play = Creativity
Creative juices will flow when there is less try and more be.
I’m always impressed when an actor can cry on cue. Tears well in their eyes as they film, surrounded by makeup artists, directors, camera operators and best boys. I’m still not sure what a Best Boy does on set but they always feature in the credits so I’m guessing they are present when the actor cries on cue.
It’s a skill to be able to create the emotion required and do it 6 times over and from different angles. It’s impressive. They are creating upon request, and I think it’s remarkable because that’s not necessarily how many of us find our creative flow. Not many of us can sit and ‘be creative’ between the hours of 2pm-3pm on Tuesdays in June.
Or maybe that’s just me.
I can be creative but not on demand. When I try I end up in a world of frustration and ‘not good enoughness’. I find that I get to create a wee bit of space and take away the expectation of ‘something happening’ and then ta-da, like magic the tap is turned on and we are creating.
Space + play = creativity
I noticed years ago that children innately play. It’s part of their being. A block becomes a car, a spoon is a pirate, fingers twinkling like stars. They explore their world through play. Adults lose this ability somewhere in high school. Our exploration is superseded by results and the finished product. Being curious and playful gets pushed to the side.
Play, for me, is when we leave expectations at the door and just allow whatever to come through. I’ve had to learn how to do this again. It doesn’t feel natural anymore.
I’m so used to hitting a deadline, producing something for a purpose and ticking off the to-do list that making space to just see what comes up feels like wasted time.
Did I just write that! Yep I did. And I’m guessing maybe it feels like time wasting to many others, maybe that’s why we do so little of it.
But without the space to play we don’t access our creative self.
We stay safe in the boxes we know and can predict. We don’t grow and we don’t learn. We don’t replenish.
Ahh here is the nub of it.
Creativity is a pathway to growth, understanding and replenishment.
So if it’s been a while since you’ve gotten your creative on…..what’s the best way to get back into flow?
The quickest and most simple is to follow your joy.
Take some time noticing what makes you feel happy.
Do you enjoy cooking, gardening, bushwalking, writing, building with lego, arranging flowers, sewing, knitting, spinning fibre……what do you enjoy?
Nothing comes to mind? Maybe your creative well is dry, so begin to refill it.
Take in a movie, watch a cooking show, flick through a coffee table book, wander in a garden. Surround yourself in places filled with inspiration, wonder and awe.
You don’t need to be the next Frida Kahlo, the world has enjoyed her already, you just get to explore what draws you in and lights you up.
Creativity draws you into the world of ‘being’ and takes you out of the world of ‘doing’.
We tend to live ensconced in the ‘do’ world. This world of action, problem solving, analysis , productivity and detailed oriented thinking. This is effective for much of our existence but without a dash of creativity and ‘be’ness we can cut the same lap of the racetrack time and time again. We can get bored and dull.
‘Be’ness is where we shift and engage a different part of our brain, that one that is linked to emotion and expression. Often to get into this state we get still and switch off actively trying to problem solve or analyse. We create space mentally. This allows us to be more receptive, intuitive and open to new things and concepts. This allows us that space to play and wonder.
Space + Play = Creativity
We can’t force creativity. It is not an ‘on demand’ streaming service. We get to be open and see what arrives. Such a different way of living in our ‘give it to me yesterday’ world.
Where can you experience more ‘Be’?
What might play look like for you?
When can you get your creative juices flowing this week?
Make sure you listen to the Happy Chicks Collective Podcast episode on creativity HERE!
