The Many Shapes of Creativity
Sometimes, I just don't feel very creative.
I admire the way some people can just sit down and create a drawing or painting of something out of thin air, or they suddenly start writing poetry or a lyrical essay with no prompt whatsoever, or they pick up a guitar and start playing a tune that just seems to manifest out of thin air.
I watch them do that and I think to myself ”Oh my gosh, they are so creative!”
In thinking those thoughts I suppose I am holding myself to a level of spontaneous creativity that I have just never had in my life.
That said, lots of people have told me that I am a very creative person, but I've always struggled to accept their assessment.
Sure, I do creative things but they were invariably a response to some kind of "prompt," or the result of somebody suggesting that I should try doing something. I suppose it is not uncreative that I am able to take somebody's ideas and notes from a napkin when they met with a friend at a restaurant and turn it into a business presentation, or even a book.
But it's not really my idea, or my creativity... I am merely giving it a shape. It doesn't feel original.
I remember many years ago somebody — who knew me really well and whose opinion I respected — described me (metaphorically) as "a really high quality picture frame." The implication was that I didn't really make that much sense on my own but there was absolutely no doubt of my ability to take something relatively plain and enhance it to the point where it was near perfection.
I've never been quite sure whether I should have been insulted or flattered by that comment!
I enjoy doing "creative things," like writing, and my mandala painted rocks... but those are invariably just my musings and expressions of something that have already been done and already been said.
I keep myself in line by reminding myself of the old truism that's popular among creative writers that there are only a handful of original ideas and everything else is simply a variation on those.
I've been creating variations of stuff that's already there for as long as I can remember. I cannot remember ever coming up with anything original.
Maybe it's not significant, in the greater scheme of things. And maybe I'm not insignificant from a creative perspective. I am just not that much of a catalyst, I am more of a follower… somebody who sees something and understands how to enhance it to its highest possible form.
Creativity has many shapes, even if we aren't always willing to consider all of them.
Sometimes I experience these temporary crises of creativity, but they pass quickly!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!
Comments, feedback and other engagement is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this venue and not published anywhere else.
2026.11.08 01:32 PST
1696/2962