I read the above article in Boston magazine about creativity and the whole industry behind it; the tips, the articles, the books, all about how to boost your creativity. Beth Altringer, the author, explored multiple sources and tested out their self-help tips for herself: high ceilings, blue walls, ambient sound, beer and coffee regimens.
What Beth found was that really none of these worked; not a surprising finding to me. I'll quote her mom, because I think she said some really true things about creativity- "Don’t worry about finding the perfect paper. Use what you have. Just get started. Don’t beat yourself up. Seek supportive people. Just focus on making a little progress every day. "
I think that what Beth's mom said is in accordance with my philosophy about creativity; it's not something that can be planned or organized, it's a constant state of being. You don't sit down and say, "I'm going to be creative and do some art." Creativity should influence everything you do on a day-to-day basis, it should be like a lens that you see everything through. A tree is an opportunity for photography, drawing, sculpture, writing, symbolism, climbing, activism. It's not just a tree when you're creative.
I also like the idea of not judging yourself. Something I used to do a lot was creative writing, and it was the thing I loved most. If you go back far enough into this blog's archives, you'll find some of my poems and short stories. But something inside me broke around eighth grade-- I couldn't --and didn't want to-- write anymore, and when I did I wasn't pleased with anything I created. It got to the point that I was too afraid to write anything because I was afraid it wouldn't be good. But who's judging? The best things are created for ourselves, not for other people, because we can pour our souls and love into them and not have to be judged; we're freest with ourselves. So I just need to stop judging myself, because if it makes me happy, it's good enough.
At the same time, having creative friends around is such a boost for creativity. I think creativity and creative ideas grow exponentially the more they are bounced around and shared. And endeavoring to do something like art, or a short film, or a story, is a lot less scary when you know there are people that are going to be there for you even if it's a total flop, because they themselves have tried and failed multiple times.
I think that living creatively is something that improves your life so much, and every day I try to be more creative in everything idea- it never hurts to switch things up and try new things. Beth Altringer's article was a great read that got me thinking, I'd definitely recommend taking a look at it.
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