How to be creative

As I get older, I find that my creativity has drained from my mind. My brain is like a desert, the last drop of precious imagination evaporated by the burning sun of repetition and box-like schooling. I often find that I just can’t think anymore. I am no longer the carefree, vision-filled child I used to be. However, in my mind, I still refuse to admit my horrible left-brained thinking. I am still that child, and hope to be her again. I’m lying to myself, but I cling on to that paradox like a lifeline.

…But one day, I found a way to be creative again.

• Write lists: Coming up with lists often helps me to compile a tangled web of ideas into sets of thoughts. Then, following the spider analogy, I can slowly devour what I’ve “sorted out” and delight in my new found wisdom: that was with me all along.

  

• Read lots: Becoming well-read is a key to understanding different perspectives, and feasibly gaining new insights. The classics are often quite interesting; find out why they’ve become classics. Oh Lord of the Flies,you never cease to disappoint…

• Brush up on history: Though it may seem tedious to go through thousands of historical documents to try and gain acuity (it is), have no fear! Small pieces of history, like major events that have occurred in Canada, can be tackled slowly. History is an excellent creative reference. History is like scraps of cloth; patches on their own seemingly have no relevance- but when they are sown into a quilt, those patches become things of intrigue.

• Get to know your city: Roaming the city can provide many interesting anecdotes. Anything you can see happening on the streets can become a story, no matter how ordinary. Rely on symbolism to see beyond the simple, everyday occurrences in life.

  

• Daydream: Staring off into space is very good for originality. By doing so, you unlock some of the hidden thought you may have. The more ridiculous, the better. After all, creativity is a dream for uniqueness, for change.

• Doodle, dance, and sing like no one’s watching: Cultivating the right side of your brain is important, because it controls your free thinking. What are more free than doodling, prancing around, and singing? I don’t mean creative your own works, as in choreographing your own dances or writing your own songs. For an amateur philosopher such as I, I tend to have extreme difficulties in creating my own musical pieces. It’s not something I’m ready for, with my pathetically small pile of insight. So, I rely on singing songs I love in the shower, or quietly humming them on the bus. And when I’m walking down the street, I often burst into wild bouts of silly running, complete with flailing arms. Finally, who doesn’t love to doodle? “Pointless” circles and shapes fill the margins of my notebooks. They convey my restlessness, my excitement, my anger, my randomness…

• If…: Think of all the “Ifs.” If you think your life is a certain way, what if it was turned upside-down? If I’m privileged, what if I was poor and destitute? If I am accomplished, what if I’m a failure? Although yearning for what you don’t have is often painful,  angst is often an outlet for the extremes of creativity. Explore every aspect of your life, and explore every aspect of society.

If– by Rudyard Kipling

That’s a lot to think about.