"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
-Frank Zappa
Creativity. What does it really mean to be creative? We all have it… I think. The dictionary defines it as “the use of imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work”. As children we all seem to posses a limitless ability to imagine and create, so why is it that as we grow older the idea of being creative is treated as an exclusive ability restricted only to those who were blessed with this so-called gift? Perhaps it is because society allows us to lose touch with our creative potentiality by putting a strong emphasis on things like materialism and social conformity, the seemingly endless struggle to “fit-in”. Buying something popular or trendy to make us feel better about ourselves is, in principal, an absurd idea, yet few can say that they haven’t fallen victim to this trap, including myself. There’s nothing original about being like everyone else, but to step outside of these social norms takes courage, and the further you stray from what is said to be normal, the more of it you’ll need. Maybe this is what represses that fearless child within and sheds an intimidating light on those that choose to be different. I think that most people forget about how accessible creativity is and choose to dismiss the idea that really anyone can be an artist. Like Frank Zappa said, our minds don’t work unless we open them. Open them and allow ourselves to embrace the artist within. The comparison of our minds to a parachute is a very interesting idea to consider because if we open them up then not only do they start to work but they ultimately save us, and when you think about it, an open mind seems to be the solution to a whole whack of problems we face in today’s society.
When we get dressed in the morning, re-arrange our furniture, make a meal, we are making choices that can be subject to creativity if we choose to acknowledge ourselves as the creative directors of our lives. Musicians, painters, dancers, etc. are not the only people who posses creative potential. If one chooses to treat life as a large, blank canvas, then all that we do in a day and all that we see can be creative, expressive and inspiring. Creativity has no limits. There is a sort of pull that exists between the desire to be different and the desire to fit in and I think that this tension is what generates a lot of creativity. To access this creativity the word original seems to come up a lot. That to be creative one must be original, but the way I see it, these words are synonymous. One cannot exist without the other, and seeing how everyone is born with there own unique set of genetic information – excluding by technicality identical twins – I do not see how anyone can claim to be stripped of the possibility of being original. It’s a scientific fact! So I guess what I’m saying is that when we explore the question of what it means to be creative, the answer lies within the individual and is only limited by a person’s fear of what it means to truly discover and express themselves.
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