What Does Creativity Mean to You?

Do you have a definition for creativity in your life?

Do you seek conscious time and space for it?

निर्माणम्: a creative activity

For most people, creativity looks very different as an adult. As people get deep into their careers and families, obligation can be stifling which leaves less energy to create freely. Adults are bound to responsibility and not encouraged to create “just to create.” We have to find our own motivation.

I was lucky to grow up in a household that fostered creativity. My dad is a teacher and writer, and my mom is a teacher and spiritual director. We were always doing art projects and playing in nature. In my downtime, I would paint, scrapbook, illustrate my own books, write songs, journal, and make poetry. I never really stopped doing creative activities for fun, but the time I set aside lessened. Growing into adulthood, my focus went to other things like career choices, relationships, travel, and social experiences.

Now I try to insert creativity in the little things I do every day. Cooking is a creative outlet for me, and it is extremely rewarding to make my food beautiful. I use all of my senses to receive information during the experience and then my hands create the meal. Creativity is problem solving. You are creative in your daily life without even noticing. I use my creativity at work when developing reports or giving presentations. The act of noticing and defining your creativity allows you to be in deeper relationship with this side of you.

Look for answers about your own creative side in your childhood. What would you do that would make the time fly by? How can you access the flow state like this now? What we put our attention towards is a powerful gift. In any moment, our attention is the only thing we have. We can be attentive and distracted, attentive and multi-tasking, but when we are “fully present,” we are in the flow state. Being in the flow state as an adult may be rare. Yoga can help us access our creativity as we breathe, move, and uncover parts of ourselves we forgot. Cultivating full awareness and presence on the mat tones the muscles for our creative attention off the mat. The yogis say the loss of imagination is the opposite of peace. The yogis let creativity be the sensory system of how to navigate.

Ultimately, the choice to honor creativity in all facets of life is there. Creativity can complement life or be the very fire that fuels it. This will ebb and flow over time in, so I encourage you to notice where you are now. In my belief, only you can assign creative value to what you do. To me, there is value in creating a dish you will eat or using your hands to push paint on canvas. Creativity brings us beyond what we know into the unknown. Creative energy is latent in every person. Explore what fuels your fire!