Somehow I got on the subscription list for Newsweek and have been receiving “free” magazines for week’s now. I like Newsweek, don’t get me wrong, but I haven’t made time to read any of the magazines until now. The newest issue is called “The Creativity Crisis” http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html and is all about how the children in America (from Kindergarten through Sixth Grade) are experiencing a decline in their creativity. Arguments are made that it is because of all the time that kids are spending in front of the boob tube and/or computer or that teachers just don’t have the time in class to explore creativity. This article actually has a lot of data from various sources and good news (ultimately).

And it got me to thinking. How do you express your creativity? Sometimes we’re creative without thinking of what we do as being creative. For instance, my husband, the web developer is so left brained it isn’t even funny but does he come up with ingenious solutions for all kinds of ways to make our household hum? Yes! I think he is one of the few who is a “bridged thinker” meaning that he is able to access both the left and right side of his brain equally as well.

We can be creative in our business as well. Look at Sam Rosen of Thought Lead (http://thoughtlead.com/) who at 24 creates innovative ways for us to do business all the time with his partners. Also my friend, Mitch Ditkoff and his team at www.ideachampions.com.

I don’t knit (but so many of my friends do), I don’t paint (ditto) but I usually score off the charts in creativity. I think that is because of the way that I look at the world. Let me put it this way, I’d rather score high on creativity than flat out balls to the wall crazy! Because I don’t have children, I don’t have the opportunity to be around kids as much as I’d like to be but I got to say that the kids that I am around seem pretty darn creative to me. I have several friends on FaceBook with kids who are between 3-10 and some of the ideas and ways their kids communicate seem to be very creative. I also have friends with teenagers who are extremely creative so I am heartened to believe that the teens of today will be able to lead the teens of tomorrow in a creative direction towards solutions.

How do you express your creativity? Are you good at communicating difficult points of view with a myriad of people? Do you draw or paint? Are you a musician? Do you knit crazy funny wonderful “animals” like my friend Risa? I’ve loved every single one of them that she has shown me thus far…not too sure what planet this animals come from…but would definitely want a collection of them. Look around at the children in your life, how can you help them be creative? Who helped you to be creative?

Go search on YouTube for “Gravity Cats” and get a laugh. There are so many ways to be creative? What will you create today?

I’ve always loved watching the sky no matter what time of the day or what the weather is like. People assign all kinds of definitions and acronyms to this tendency to watch the sky from day dreaming to day tripping to ADHD. I must have it all. Today was no exception as I took my morning walk and watched the big cumulus clouds roll by. They were moving especially fast this morning (20 knots? I don’t know!) with the sun peaking in between them every now and again. The sky was littered with buzzards soaring on the wind currents. It looked like they were just up there having fun and not at all interested in spotting carrion.

I’ve heard it said that creative people need plenty of “down time” to re-charge their batteries. I’m not exactly sure what takes place within the creative part of our brains, but I’m pretty sure it comes close to regenerating. There have been countless studies about this and I know it to be true. And to think of all the years I used to get in trouble during class because of staring mindlessly out the window!!

Clouds may be a good vehicle to take your mind on a little trip from your worries and responsibilities because I’ve noticed after about ten minutes or so of watching them, your brain becomes sort of hypnotized (similar to rubbing a lizard’s belly) and gives up the notion of worry. But I can get that same kind of peace laying outside on our old diving board watching the stars all across the sky. It won’t take too long for you to spot a satellite or a plane or maybe even a shooting star if you’re far enough away from the light pollution of the city. Just follow that object for awhile as it makes its way across the sky and see if you don’t notice your shoulders and back beginning to shed their tension.

We had a bulletin board in our first grade class that had a clown (can you believe that choice?!?) who was holding three balloons that said, “Look, Listen, and Learn”. Maybe watching the sky and letting yourself unwind can be a new way for you to look, listen and learn from a whole other part of yourself.

Try it. I’m going to go do some more sky watching myself now…..

Why is it important to express ourselves creatively?

There are some of us who only show their true thoughts, feelings and values through their creative expression. If you have every spoken with a singer or actor or writer or artist who expresses themselves through one of these vehicles, they have most likely told you that they HAVE to sing or act or write or paint. It is as if they are a living volcano where the molten lava of their thoughts and feelings have to come out.

I’m very grateful to know many creatively expressive people AND if you don’t think of yourself as being creative…I encourage you to think again. We’re all creative, you just have to discover your own unique way of expressing yourself creatively.

Finding your own unique way of expressing yourself could be as easy as recognizing that something you do effortlessly, a lot, and that you enjoy…just could be your way of creatively expressing yourself.

I’m someone who has to write or speak the ideas that come into my mind so that I can see or hear what it is I’m thinking. Turns out that my brain is a really crowded place and so it’s like many of my creative thoughts are crammed up back-to-back against each other in zip file purgatory. It is only when I express my creative idea through writing and/or speaking that I can release at least one of those zip files to make room for more.

As you go through this process of looking at yourself and how you live your life, find someone safe that you can bounce your realizations off for feedback. If I was going to say that there was a one “rule” to this exercise, I would suggest that you only do this when you can be kind to yourself. No editing your ideas, no judgement about what you do and no comparison with others. You are the only YOU in this world. Trust that specialness.

Notice, just be wiling to notice how you interact with the world today. You just may be pleasantly surprised.