Everyday Creativity
I’m rather good at maps. I’m also good at using a GPS device. But I forgot the maps and here we were, late afternoon, last day of vacation, my daughter my cousin and I, driving along a two-lane highway in midstate Oregon. No other car in sight, and the sun had just gone down. Where was that charming little village?
It was supposed to be right along this river. We drove on, farther and farther into the unknown, river always at left as our guide. We kept passing farms and fields and scattered houses and now a few lights were coming out. In my head, I was doing a litany of self-criticism: Why didn’t we start earlier, leave more time, have lunch sooner, save dessert for the little town, bring the map, and on and on and on, a list of all we did wrong -- reliving it as if that could help us now. My cousin and I were both impatient and stressed. My daughter, at least, was happy in the back seat, text messaging a friend. I pull up on the shoulder of the road to think.
Just then -- WOW! Amazing! A new scene had appeared. A new slide projected on a screen. Where did it come from?
Look! LOOK! I insisted. Even my daughter looked up. Right there, out of nowhere: a magical misty landscape. Fields moving off to infinity in muted purples and pastels, fuzzy in the haze, with clusters of tall lush tress, darkening and receding in the dusk. I turned the car engine off. All was silent in the hot summer air. Beside us a plum-colored river barely moved between a border of trees, its dark lazy water reflecting the last light of day.
How breathtaking! This landscape had cast a spell. We sat in the silence of an indrawn breath. Where had it been? If I had seen even a trace of this beauty while driving along, not a neuron had registered it, no mental bell had rung so that the conscious mind could stop and take a look. I had missed it all. We had all missed it.
We miss a lot, almost everything, in fact, in our world. Our task-focused filters take care of that, selecting only what we need. We need to get to work. Have some lunch. Find that report. Water the garden. Go out on a date. We see what we need to see, often for purposes of survival -- or survival of the species. Gregory Bateson, speaking of beauty, said aesthetic judgment is selection of a fact. We create the sight even as we become conscious of it. We do not simply see it. In our daily lives, who or what is doing the selecting? And why? Is this predetermined? Can we -- in the here and now – make a change? Can we see further? Can we see better? Can we even better our world?
Opening our vision is a first step in Everyday Creativity.
Ruth Richards is the author of Everyday Creativity and the Healthy Mind: Dynamic New Paths for Self and Society. Published by Palgrave Macmillan. It was the winner of a Silver Nautilus Award.
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50 Past Reflections
On Jul 31, 2023 ikhlaq ahmed wrote :
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On Jul 28, 2023 Ferdinand de Bakker wrote :
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On Jul 12, 2023 J.Maleon wrote :
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On Jun 29, 2023 ivonne wrote :
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On Apr 9, 2023 Luisa wrote :
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On Feb 6, 2023 Fredy Ticona wrote :
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On Oct 12, 2022 Darren Milne wrote :
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On Aug 12, 2022 Khalif wrote :
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On Aug 8, 2022 luthfiyyah_damayani wrote :
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On Nov 28, 2021 KEI wrote :
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On May 16, 2021 Arvin Ombika wrote :
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On Jan 18, 2021 I know that I experience beauty all over the place and it stops me and makes me joyful every time. But that doesn't feel so creative to me it just feels like I'm lucky to be appreciative of all the beauty in my world wrote :
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On Jan 31, 2020 A Malkewitz wrote :
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On Sep 18, 2019 Alejandra M wrote :
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On Jun 28, 2018 Rachel Porias wrote :
I am so lucky to live on a small farm in Texas, have brilliant donkeys (smarter than humans) and learn so much everyday by watching and listening to them. Sometimes my a-ha moments come at this time. Sheep are so much like humans...I learn a lot here too.
Every evening I am given a gift of the sunset, and right when the sun is setting across my pasture and into the farm pasture across the country road, a final burst of crescendo of light appears, and then the sun sets.
Sometimes too, while I am driving down my drive and turning onto the country road, a "team," more than a brace, of white birds (the ones who accompany cattle out in the pastures) gather overhead and almost point the way that I should go. I wonder what that is all about.....
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On Jan 26, 2018 Lynn wrote :
In an increasingly busy and demanding world in which time constraints seem to be intensified, the ability to find the time to balance the "must do" or "survival" with the open, relaxed and risk-taking freeness to fully embody the other possibilities we miss along the way.
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On Jan 6, 2018 Ella wrote :
So true, we move too quickly, thinking too habitually, moreover, the inner critic is always ready to offer the thoughts of doubt. In such a limited 'mental state' we miss a lot without even noticing that we do.
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On Aug 7, 2017 Ann wrote :
I just joined a creativity class. Today is the first day and, I believe this blog is written by an instructor of the class. I am finding myself unable to move forward in my life..I feel stuck....I am quite creative, innately, I think but without drive. My mind keeps going to the "gonnas" in my life but I don't want to just do what I have to do...I want to experience my creative life (I am retired)..and I can't get passed the "have to" list (which I procrastinate)...hence stuck in limbo. I am going to begin today....small steps....just observing my world, w/o judgment, simply. It will be difficult.
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On Jul 10, 2017 Rennata Tropeano wrote :
I have been feeling down, stuck and not every creative. I signed up for a class in creativity and a link within it brought me here. I am very glad of that. This post is what I needed to hear, Thank you.
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On May 9, 2017 Lori Pickens wrote :
I agree with you, there is so much creativity in the world. We just need to slow down and take it all in, breathe.
Once we relax, rest, and give our minds a chance to unwind the magic starts to happen.
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On Feb 13, 2017 Zubair Shaikh wrote :
I am Urdu language speaker, a couplet of poetry in Urdu gives meaning that you went trough in the world with very superficial and eye bird view, other wise every tiny piece of the world contained a whole world in itself.
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On Dec 28, 2016 Prosperity wrote :
This is so indicative of our society. We get so caught up and focused on what we have to do that we don't notice the beauty around us.
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On Dec 4, 2016 shalini wrote :
All of us generally are running in our spin of cycle without even looking for new things as we are very comfortable in the same cycle and not looking for new things, not appreciating like how a child does... thus missing a whole lot of beautiful admirable scenes in life.
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On Nov 2, 2016 Benita wrote :
I did a painting course last week. And ever since I have been looking at the world differently and thinking of how I could translate it in a painting. Driving home after gym I was awed by all the lights blinking below me from the mountain road and the special colour of the sky and the road sign provided an amazing contrast. The garden is fascinating me. Everything is becoming a potential for a beautiful picture.
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On Jul 8, 2016 Rajendra P Thanju wrote :
enjoyed the writing.
'what is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare' by William H Davies.
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On Jun 23, 2016 Cindi wrote :
What a joy to read this passage! I am reminded to appreciate the miracles all around me every day. For example, I walk every morning at sunrise. I've done this all my adult life, some 40 years now. Every morning I am in awe watching the sunrise as if it is the first one I've ever seen. Each one is unique and each one creates a sense of anticipation for the day ahead. I never tire of this exercise. On the days I am unable to walk for one reason or another I miss this opportunity to connect to the present. Those days are not as much fun as the days when I walk.
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On May 18, 2016 Doumie wrote :
In a similar situation many times in my life! Happy ending always to do with admitting my anxiety when facing the unknown or unfamiliar and letting go of it as a gift to myself... abdominal breathing helps a great deal in such cases: by oxygenating our brain and therefore giving it a chance to work full blast!
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On Feb 22, 2015 Carlen Vargas Sens wrote :
Good text That is why I don't care about my "non-sense of location", being lost is always a way to know more about a place than you were suppose to learn.
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On Feb 20, 2015 Ron Moats wrote :
The closest thing I can relate to on this was one time I was lost heading north out of Montana riding to Alaska and missed a turn off because I must have been passing trucks either pulling doubles or triples. The only thing I knew was I was supposed to be heading north and I was driving directly into the sun so that would have to be west? I drove for over an hour and started getting nervous because I didn't know how much more gas I had in the tank (motorcycle didn't have a gas gauge) then I passed it... The road sign that I had to stop and get a picture of "welcome to headsmashedinbuffalojump" I had to get a picture of the sign, I had driven 90 miles out of my way so I spent the night at the park.
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On Feb 18, 2015 K.R.T Achar wrote :
I chanced upon a similar scenario on one of my trips (pseudo-official) which was all alone in the coastal interiors of my state (Karnataka, India) in the southern part of peninsular India where I live. Sun had just then set and the atmosphere was getting into a colder night. I was by the river side when a school kid who was on his way back to his house far from the fields, gave us directions to the river before running away. it was the innocent smile on his face that left an impression since he was victorious in satisfying our objective of finding our place........ one can feel, sense and be inspired in more than one way. It is the spontaneous feeling in such moments that leaves one spellbound........
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On Feb 17, 2015 madhubala wrote :
I am impressed.I was visiting the Andaman islands and Trying to have a glimpse of the sun rising out of the sea. Unfortunately it was clouded and i could not view what i had set out for but I did see the amazing orange clouds and a hue of colors in the early morning sky which made me speechless. At times you want to see a different thing but nature provides a glimpse of the abundant beauty around unexpectedly . It was a thrilling experience.
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On Feb 17, 2015 AP wrote :
A long-standing joke with my kids is that I never get lost when driving. If I lose sight of where I am, because I didn't look at a map, or the GPS can't for whatever reason locate the satellite we are not lost. We are on an adventure. It's a practice we've managed to embed enough that they never ask if we're lost. Instead, they ask if we're on an adventure. That play, and the ease of it that they've caught on to, helps me reset when I don't have any idea of where I am, or where I'm going.
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On Feb 17, 2015 Veronica Papale wrote :
One of my favorite things about children is they notice things that we have come to take for granted-simple everyday things, often with just the simple question, "why?" or, my favorite, "what is that?" I am always so grateful whenever I see a sunset, or sometimes, even just the sky. Sometimes it is so blue, it takes my breath away. I always love the contrast of snow on tree limbs contrasted against the blue sky. I also love clouds, especially when they contain droplets which causes them to reflect the colors of a rainbow, or when the sun cascades rays of light upon the earth from behind them.
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On Dec 5, 2012 Math wrote :
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On Dec 24, 2011 fred wrote :
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On Dec 19, 2011 Catherine Todd wrote :
"Look! LOOK! I insisted. Even my daughter looked up. Right there, out of nowhere: a magical misty landscape. Fields moving off to infinity in muted purples and pastels, fuzzy in the haze, with clusters of tall lush tress, darkening and receding in the dusk. I turned the car engine off. All was silent in the hot summer air. Beside us a plum-colored river barely moved between a border of trees, its dark lazy water reflecting the last light of day."
What beautiful words... this I had to share. Gracias.
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On Dec 18, 2011 Jimmi wrote :
Peace is all around us man evercahanging force of life to adapt to a world of mis deeds and misunderstood intentions to overcome all that may appear to be right as much as one may will the opposite. Peace be with you my brothers my sisters, aunties and thier grand babies.
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On Dec 13, 2011 Navin sata wrote :
Beauty is in the eye of beholder, in nature every season is full of beauty,nature heals,nurtures and inspires all kind of artist,poets in nature every thing gives . think hands that paints the sky everyday.we all are his children .in our inner beauty it reflects in silence of meditation ,we become one with nature and creativity flows endlessly moment to moment
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On Dec 11, 2011 Ganoba wrote :
i have two reflections:
1 about getting lost, and
2 about survival.
We are liable to be lost if our reference point is not in the present, if it is else where in time (usually past) or in space. Then anxiety, irritation fear take over and miss a lot of all that is on offer.
The idea of survival either as individuals or groups, cuts us of from our environment. it is high time we get rid of this pernicious idea given "scientific" validity by Darwin and his hangers on.
The universe is based on the principle of synergy and cooperation.
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On Dec 10, 2011 Ricky wrote :
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On Dec 10, 2011 conrad wrote :
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On Dec 10, 2011 Derek wrote :
What strikes me most of this passage is how sometimes we must surrender to life. That we might be drawn off course from our path at times. We may not understand why.. but we need to have faith in knowing there is a purpose.. a lesson. And in this case it's about developing awareness and appreciation for the blessings that surround us. To be present and in the moment....
I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for the reminder : )
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On Dec 9, 2011 Edit Lak wrote :
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On Dec 9, 2011 Dave Doane wrote :
I believe the most significant factor in being creative is being present, and our task focus and goal directedness get in the way of being present. When creativity appears to come out of task focused goal directed activity, I believe it's still really coming out of a moment of being present, a moment that has managed to squeeze through the task focus and goal directedness, and sometimes it gets noticed, like the guy in the car who noticed the present moment of 'magical misty landscape' that broke through his goal directed driving. Creativity happens when being present.
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On Dec 1, 2011 Marta wrote :
It seems as if we can look at every moment in life as a miracle waiting to be discovered. Your intuition to stop. The silence of the night. The awareness of the stunning scene. All added up to the 'perfect storm' of the present. Lovely, Ruth. Simply lovely.