This creative life truth probably stands as one of my favorites. Reason: I’ve been arguing the case that everyone is creative for years. I vividly recall saying something along that line to my college roommate. A few years later, I made the statement to my youngest brother, an engineer.
They both responded with skepticism, if not outright disbelief. My college roommate said she couldn’t be creative because of her inability to draw. (When she drew some figures to cheer me up after a brutal art class, I joked her figures were Picasso-esque. They made me laugh, though, so her attempt to encourage me was a complete success.) My brother took a similar stance; he couldn’t be creative because he didn’t draw or write.
I disagree. My roommate constantly produced creative solutions to problems. When we experienced a squirrel infestation (Long story.), we trotted over to Lowe’s and bought some screening and a caulk gun. Would I have thought of the idea? Maybe, maybe not. The irregular window size probably would have stumped me for a bit. My roommate, though, turned all MacGyver and discerned an answer to our squirrel woes.
As for my brother, he sees the world from a different perspective than I. Everything runs in straight lines and mathematical equations. Proof: he, not I, painted the lettering for several of my murals. He found the walls’ centerlines, traced the letters, and spent an inordinate amount of time painting each word. I can act in the same way, but he does so with a perverse pleasure.
I say they are creative and will continue to say it because, to me, creativity concerns vision and curiosity. We see a problem and wonder, “What if?” Some of us address the issue with words or paint. Others, like my college roommate, enter the classroom and find ways to teach concepts to kids. People like my brother think about stressors and soil densities in order to build strong bridges and buildings.
I think that’s creativity in action. The end product differs — and I believe that to be a good and beautiful thing — but the impetus arises from a similar, if not the same, place. My college roommate, my brother, and I all want to make something, so we get to work and figure out how to do it.
Image: Emily Matthews (Creative Commons)