Everyday Creativity
Do you consider yourself creative? Why you definitely should.
"Creativity is inherent in everyone; it’s simply the ability to reach into your soul and let it speak." – Anonymous
Creative Imposter Syndrome
Someone asked me once if I considered myself creative. I laughed and emphatically said, “Definitely not.” A year later, that same person asked me to be a guest on their podcast “Created Creative”, a fantastic show about creativity and spirituality. I was flattered, fought the instinct to decline and accepted this honor.
Over the past year, I have thought a lot about creativity. What does it mean? How do we cultivate it? Who has creative gifts and who doesn’t? I’ve previously shared about my chronic condition of Imposter Syndrome and my prescription for treating it. It turns out, I also had Imposter Syndrome around calling myself creative. Maybe you do too.
I am not artistic, crafty or musical. I buy my kids’ Halloween costumes online and can only play a few bars of “Piano Man” on our keyboard. I am a patron of the arts, but far from an artist myself. It took me quite some time to realize that just because I can’t tap dance, knit sweaters, paint murals or sing arias, doesn’t mean I’m not creative. I had conflated artistic talent with creativity. The two are not synonymous and it took me a while to untangle that for myself.
In his book, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, psychologist Carl Jung comes to a similar revelation, writing, "Creative powers can manifest themselves in all spheres of life; they are not confined to the arts."
I want to propose a new definition of what it means to be creative:
Creativity = being inspired to do something new.
If creativity is doing something new, then we all have moments of creativity in our everyday lives. Creativity is adding cinnamon to your coffee for the first time. It is picking up shells on the beach and putting them on a shelf when you get home. It is driving a different way home for a change of scenery. Creativity is planting a new type of flower. Creativity is even posting a thought or a picture on social media!
We are all creative.
We have different gifts and creativity may look different for each of us. Some of you are incredibly artistic, musical and crafty! But those who struggle with claiming this description for yourselves hear this: In simply engaging with the world – we are living creative lives.
One of my favorite pastoral theologians, Pamela Cooper-White proposes some other names for the triune God, to help Christians expand their view beyond just “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” One of the names she uses is Creative Profusion. I love this because it anchors the essence of divinity in creation. And if you are someone who believes in Imago Dei, aka humans are made in God’s image, then Creative Profusion means we are all truly created to be creative.
"Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God."
– Julia Cameron
I used to live in NYC and being a chaplain there meant sometimes my patients were celebrities, some of whom were “professional creatives.” One time I met a lovely, very famous fashion designer and my colleagues were aghast that I had no idea who he was and how expensive his product line was. They were upset I missed my opportunity for free shoes! Instead, we talked about his fear of an upcoming surgery.
In the course of a conversation with another patient, I realized she was an opera singer who starred in a production I saw the year prior. I fought the urge to turn into a complete fan girl, but I did ask her about what it was like to be a professional singer and perform. She was humble and grounded in her response.
“I see myself as a vessel. God gave me this tool and I use it to help other people feel something.”
She was moved when others told her they cried listening to her sing. She recognized the power she had to help people connect with themselves and something beyond themselves. As many people have told me they access their spirituality through the arts, it was a reminder of what transcendence can look like.
Maybe you still aren’t convinced of your innate creativity. Or maybe you’re being called to create something bigger beyond today’s lunch. Maybe you dream of being on a stage moving others to tears or perhaps you want to create something more tangible but are figuring out what that is. I work with a lot of clergy who have to preach a sermon every week and don’t always know what to say. And I know there are lots of writers on substack (yours truly included) who might encounter writer’s block from time to time. So here are some tips on cultivating your creative gifts:
How To Tap Into Your Innate Creativity
Morning Pages
Julia Cameron wrote a fantastic prescription for unlocking creativity in her seminal book The Artist’s Way. She recommends trying a technique called morning pages. It involves hand-writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness thoughts first thing in the morning. I’ve engaged with this practice on and off for years and it is a powerful way to get in touch with your creative self.
It’s different from a reflective journaling practice that you may have tried before. The point is to not overthink and just write whatever comes out. Sometimes my writing is utterly banal, “I don’t want to be writing at the moment, my hand hurts, I can hear the kids fighting, I keep getting interrupted, etc.” The idea is to keep the pen moving. When I can hold something loosely, it allows for my thoughts to flow more expressively.
Sometimes when I get to the end of the three pages, it will have turned into a prayer and I am addressing God directly. Sometimes I get an idea for a substack post. Sometimes I am just happy to be done and have absolutely no new insights. But the practice of showing up daily helps. I find it akin to meditation: when I meditate in the morning, I am more grounded throughout the day. When I do my morning pages, I am more in touch with myself and sometimes open to sparks of creativity that I may not have noticed otherwise.
Show Up
Cultivating creativity can take discipline. It is a rare thing that people wait until they are inspired and then create. More often than not, it’s about setting an intention to create – even if you don’t know what will come from it – and then following through. More often than not, I have no idea what to write or speak about. I find myself staring at a blank screen all the time. Sometimes we have to go through the motions to access our creative selves.
You could block time on your calendar or have a dedicated place where you create. Have your materials ready and visible so that it’s on your mind. Maybe give yourself a deadline so you commit to completing something by then.
Dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp said, "Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits." So too, in our spiritual lives, habits can help sustain us. For a refresher on my take on “spiritual habit-stacking” see this post.
How can you build habits around creativity?
Create Where You Can
Sometimes it is hard to show up to a beautiful and regular creative routine. As a mom who works a full-time job with a private practice on the side, time is in short supply. I’ve had to get creative with where and how I create. Most of the posts you’ve read have been composed while I am waiting for my kids at practices – soccer, basketball, acting, piano, etc. I would love long stretches of days to ponder and wonder and turn a phrase. But for now, I eke out what I can, when I can, wherever I can. It takes intentionality or it won’t happen. So I drop the kids off and then hop back in the car, on the passenger side (more room for the laptop), set a timer, and write/edit/think about anything and everything.
Artist Bruce Gaarrabrandt said “Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones."
What are the ordinary moments of your life that can become creative ones?
Move
Last fall, I did manage to arrange for that elusive time away to create. (Thanks husband!) But during my first writer’s retreat, I was stuck and spent much of my free time hiking the nearby Appalachian Trail. The other participants may have thought it odd that I kept hoofing it while they were typing away in Adirondack chairs, but I learned that sometimes you have to move. There is such a thing as pre-writing and that is all the time you are thinking about writing. It is all creative, even if there is nothing to show for it at that moment – it is all part of the work. It takes time and sometimes I have to work out an idea before the words can flow. I have to get out of my head and into my body. If hiking isn’t your thing, breathing exercises can also work well to get you in touch with your creative spirit.
For some breathing exercises - see this post.
For more embodiment practices - see this post.
Silence & Solitude
I require quiet to write, which can be hard to come by in my house, even with my earplugs! I feel most in the creative zone when I am on planes or trains – as there is minimal noise and interruptions. Even if you are on the extraverted side, being alone and still with your thoughts can help you tap into deeper creativity.
Distractions abound in our world and turning down the volume on what’s happening around us can help us tune into what’s happening within us. Sometimes we must allow ourselves to be bored to get our creative juices flowing. Silence and solitude can help us listen to our inner voice.
Psychologist Rollo May wrote "In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone."
For more on the power of silence - see this post.
Find Community
This may sound like the complete opposite of what I just suggested about solitude and in some ways it is - because it’s about balance. Seeking out a like-minded community of creators can be beneficial to sustaining your practice. Some people find power in spiritual groups - such as congregations, prayer circles or meditation groups - if that is true for you, you might consider finding your creative tribe as well. Maybe it’s a book club or pottery class. Perhaps a knitting circle, community theater or gardening club. Being among people who are creating together can spark energy and commitment. And the impact of accountability is also significant and can keep you motivated. Pro-tip: many local libraries have any number of creative groups that meet regularly.
Change your Routine
Sometimes it’s not about doing something entirely new but instead changing what we are already doing. This adds novelty to our lives and keeps us stimulated. Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand for a change. It will be a challenge. I can attest to this, having done it for weeks following my shoulder surgery. It was no longer a rote act, but one that took concentration and felt different. Operating from a different perspective can spark new ideas. It is also a way to engage mindfulness and gratitude, as you have to pay attention more in the moment and then appreciate how hard it is to do it a new way.
Look For Beauty
We can train our brains to engage our creative selves more by looking for beauty in all things. When you’re passing by that back alley that most people think is an eyesore, maybe you catch a glimmer of the sun hitting a broken window and notice the rainbow. Maybe you see the grass growing in between the broken concrete sidewalk slabs. Be a beauty-hunter and you will find inspiration in unexpected places.
An easy way to find beauty is by consuming art. As noted above, I am not musical or artistic but love going to the theater, concerts and museums. Leaving the city for the country has made being a patron of the arts a bit more challenging, but art is still accessible so long as I seek it out. I recently started taking my kids to high school plays and musicals (they loved Addams Family, but weren’t fans of Legally Blonde) or maybe you have a nearby farmer’s market that includes booths by local artisans. I have also heard it said that if you want to be a writer, the best thing to do is read - so if you’ve managed to keep reading this far, you are engaging your creativity!
If we expose ourselves to art, I believe it inspires us, even on a subconscious basis. Creativity begets creativity. Spiritual leader and author Thomas Merton wrote about this concept in his book No Man is an Island,
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. The mind that responds to the intellectual and spiritual values that lie hidden in a poem, a painting, or a piece of music, discovers a spiritual vitality that lifts it above itself, takes it out of itself, and makes it present to itself on a level of being that it did not know it could ever achieve.”
Where can you find beauty and art around you?
If you are looking for more inspiration, here are my favorite books on creativity:
Love this! I also need quiet to write!! Also where were you a chaplain in NYC?!
Oh my goodness, I was so grateful for this whole reflection on creativity. I passed it on to my husband, who is an artist. But I've never particularly thought about myself as "creative", however . . . I see that "Creativity = being inspired to do something new," I realized that I'm creative after all! I just finished an all day required French civics course, (followed by three more full days!) Does that count as "something new"?!?