Tuesday, January 10, 2012

CRE·A·TIV·I·TY

Most of you know that I am a professional musician. Did you also know that I am an amateur visual artist, graphic designer, magazine publisher, independent re-modeling contractor, interior designer, poet, writer and most recently a blogger? I am truly what people call a creative being or what others may consider a "renaissance man". But I'm here to tell you a little secret... I am nothing special. Why? You ask. Because the truth is, WE ALL ARE. Everyone of us. The creative flare has been with man since the dawn of time. It is how we, as a species crawled off the primordial wheel and into a shiny brand new Toyota Hybrid Prius. If you don't believe me, let me prove it to you. Wikipedia defines the concept like this: "Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art, a novel, a joke, etc.) that has some kind of value. Most commonly beamed to us from an alien civilization living deep with in the Pleiadies star system." Ok, maybe fact finding on Wikipedia wasn't the brightest idea. Lets see what Dictionary.com has to say: 


"cre·a·tiv·i·ty: The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination". 


The last word in this definition is VERY important. Imagination. This is the proof you were looking for. Everybody has an imagination. We all used it when we were children and even though some of us might not use it as adults, we still have it. The imagination is the cradle of creativity. Nothing in this world can be created with out it first being imagined. Our entire existence is dependent on our individual and collective imagination. Everything around you was created by someone or (depending on your personal beliefs) something. Even in terms of macro-cosms & micro-cosms. The universe itself, which at some point in time didn't exist, blasted forth from some dark unknown recess. Just like an idea from our minds. The only difference between you (if you happen to feel that you are un-creative) and I, is follow through. Realizing your idea. Bringing it forth into the physical world. 

The average person has up to 12,000 thoughts a day. That's 12,000 sparks from the imaginative Zippo. Some catch fire and others don't get past the flint. Either way, they all click. Our brain was built to imagine, think and create. It is who we are, intrinsically. If we are not creating, we are not fulfilling our entire purpose as human beings. We are not reaching our fullest potential. It's the answer to the universal question "Why are we here?".  Hell, it's even in the bible. The first command God gave every living being was "to be fruitful and multiply".  Although creating life is the ultimate expression of our imaginative process, you don't have to take it to that extent to reach the highest potential inside of you. Well, at least not until you're ready. Oh and by the way, if you feel you lack the potential to be the type of person I want you to realize you are, let me drop some science on your ass.


The entire atomic energy potential in a human being is summed up in E=MC2. Energy = Mass (Mass being you or more specifically, your body weight) multiplied by the speed of light, multiplied by the speed of light. For the average 140 pound person that equals out to 1.7×1012 kilowatt-hours. That's enough power to light the entire United States for 16 years! If you have that much potential in your own body, you have an idea worth following through with.  

So follow through with it! I don't care what it is! Find something in your life that allows you to express your own brand of creativity! Write poems, music, stories, jokes, novels, make up funny little songs, build a match stick town, dance, doodle, draw, color, paint, learn architecture and design a house, dust off those old He-Man action figures and play! I don't care! Find one thought out of the 84,000 you have every week and run with it! You can show the world or keep it for yourself. Just DO IT! (Here is some food for thought, that familiar little catch phrase sprang from someone's imagination and was worth billions of dollars.) Do what you were meant to do. If you don't create, you will deteriorate! (Although clever, I doubt that one will make me billions). You have an amazingly creative mind! Please use it and  join me in creating our world. And yes, I do mean that both literally and figuratively. 

Having said that, I thought I would share a few of my own creative works. Please let me know what you think...




7 comments:

  1. Loving the artwork. You're friggin' awesome! But what if we don't know what our "talent" is? I'm 42 yrs old and have yet to find it. I've tried writing a childrens book just to get stuck. I've had one line from a song I've always wanted to write stuck in my head, and I get stuck. I think that there are those with creativity and talent,and then there's me.

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  2. For every idea I bring to fruition, there are a hundred I get stuck on. Thomas Edison got stuck 1000 times before he invented a light bulb that would work. Seem to me you like writing. Maybe thats just one of your many creative talents:)

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  3. Nice art Shy. You need to make me a piece for the studio. The thoughts you are expressing are great also. We all need to dig in to our child like imagination more often. Get off the computer, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix,Hulu, and read some Walt Whitman, draw, paint, practice our instruments... And in this I speak to myself.

    Greg SG Studios

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  4. I believe you're absolutely right about creative energy, because the thoughts of creating are a constant for me. Maybe it's genetics, but I have to be doing something constantly. Nice artwork. Thanks again for the inspiration:-)Maybe some people don't know what their talents are, but have other blessings they are unaware of, like social skills, or being a good mom, or smart...everyone has a special gift:-)

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  5. You never know when creativity strikes, so always have a pen & paper with you. Don't try & sit at a desk & force it out. (BTW cooking's creative.)

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  6. You are correct sir. Cooking is very creative:)

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  7. I agree with Greg, aka "My Walk"- I think that this world of constant communication (via social media, etc.) hinders our ability to communicate with OURSELVES. And I am just as guilty of this as anyone. Sometimes the best thing in the world is disconnecting with all electronic devices, grabbing a pen and a notebook and just having a conversation with yourself and a piece of paper. . . .or for those of us that cannot completely give up our computers- a conversation between yourself and your blog.

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