Why Wednesdays? – Why Creativity Counts: Series Recap

A Note about This Feature:  Why Wednesdays is a Move Eat Create weekly feature determined to turn the mid-week doldrums upside down and celebrate things I love to do and blog about.  Currently, the focus is on creating and creativity.

 

In my opinion, creativity so often gets a bad rap.  It’s too often thought of as something that a select group of people have. And while it may be considered fun, it is not necessarily considered ‘important’ by the standards of society at large.  It is not uncommon for creativity to be relegated to the ranks of crafters, kooky ‘artsy’ types and children.   There are two main things I would like to say about this.

photo credit: gfpeck via photopin cc

First, this attitude is problematic because crafters, kooky ‘artsy’ types, and children contribute wonderful things to our world which should not be undervalued.

Second, and probably the most consistent theme that I hope has come through in this series, is that creativity is so much bigger than that.  It is not the sole domain of specific, select groups of people.  We all have at least a little bit of it in us and it shows up in a wonderful hodgepodge of ways.

Plus, where the heck would we be without it?  Museums would be empty.  Restaurants would serve unseasoned rice and noodles.  Everyone would wear black.  Movies would tell the same stories over and over again (okay, sometimes it feels like this last one is already happening).

Science would be stunted.  There wouldn’t be an iPad.  Forget about giving your kids an Etch-A-Sketch or occupying their time with crayons.  There would be no building forts out of cushions and boxes.  There would be no Martha Stewart.  No Warhol or Da Vinci (and subsequently, no wonderful Doctor Who episode about Da Vinci).  No jazz.  No Broadway.  No Eiffel Tower or Golden Gate Bridge.  No Sesame Street.  No Choose Your Own Adventure books.  No yarn bombing.  No fancy cupcakes.  No Bob Ross and his happy little trees.

No progress.

No innovation.

No fun.

Am I being melodramatic?  Maybe.  It wouldn’t be the first time.  But, maybe not.

Our world moves forward with little steps (a new yarn shop on the corner!) and big ones (a new space mission being launched!) because of individuals who have creative thoughts and aren’t afraid to let them out.  Every clever new idea, every visionary plan of the future, every inventive contraption adds a little something to our world that we didn’t have before.  Some creative output fails and some prospers, but it all matters.  It all teaches us and inspires us and keeps things churning.

It is all valuable and we all have creative instincts in some regard.

So what are you waiting for?

Where’s your creative energy at today?

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Previous Entries in This Series:

Why Creativity Counts #5:  It Connects Us

Why Creativity Counts #4:  It’s Handy When You’re Cheap and Broke Frugal

Why Creativity Counts #3:  Self-Sufficiency

Why Creativity Counts #2:  It Makes You Smarter

Why Creativity Counts #1:  Because It’s So Much More Than You May Think

Coming Up:  Why I Eat . . .