28 - Creativity

Steve Johnson - Pexels.com

Of all the personal traits I pride myself on having, being creative is at the top of the list.

If I’m not actively creating something, or at the very least brainstorming potential things to create, I don’t feel like myself, and I’m not particularly pleasant to be around.

Creating things keeps me occupied. It keeps me from dwelling on any of the real world problems I face either personally (relationships, finances), or the problems we all face as a society (political upheaval, global warming, racism).

It allows me to channel my innermost thoughts and feelings in a more positive, more productive way. A necessary outlet for me, especially in these times.

With age, and personal growth, I’ve also accepted that the things I create don’t necessarily have to be consumed by anyone else but me. I’m in the process of writing my first novel, but I’m not expecting thousands of people to read it. I’m not even expecting 10 people to read it. I’m not expecting to make money off of it, either. It’s not about that. It’s about being able to check off the last writing-oriented box on my list of goals. I just want to be able to say I’ve completed a novel, simple as that.

I love creating things for the sake of it, not necessarily for praise or monetary reasons - though of course, those things are nice, too.

But it’s the fact that my brain is my brain, and the things I create are wholly unique in that regard. As are the works of every other writer, musician, painter, etc. Big or small, known or unknown, we’re all adding things that will outlast our own mortalities.

It doesn’t just have to be artistic works either; every human invention exists because of creativity. Someone, somewhere, came up with an invention to better our lives collectively. Those inventions required a creative eye to see something that didn’t yet exist, and make it so.

Creativity in and of itself is not just a beautiful thing - it’s been necessary for our survival up to this point, and will be just as important as we continue to advance as a species.