by Andrea Theisson

Created on: April 03, 2010

Creativity is what separates us from the animals.  It is what has expanded our consciousness beyond the primitive.  It is a process that synthesizes perceptions and information, connects the dots and yet, also, sometimes magically transcends reality.  It is thinking beyond the box, if that means the earliest cave-type boxes, or the current socio-political boxes.  Humans are hard-wired to think, to create, even if we sometimes forget as society conditions us to repress the urge to create.

Creativity is problem-solving.  It is survival.  Creativity is questioning the status quo.  It’s a good instinct, generally. Human creativity feeds off of itself, and increases as we express ideas and encourage ourselves and others to grow.  Initially, creativity improved life and efficiency.  Food, clothing, shelter – all became more and more elaborate and embellished.  We must make our distinctive marks upon our lives, our things.  We humans adapt everything we use to suit ourselves, our environment.  “Necessity as the father of invention” came first.  Then we decorated.

There are huge jumps in civilization and inventions as we developed greater interaction and communication. This is what happened with the evolution of permanent communities, and later the Renaissance and the printed word.  A growing leisure class patronized the Fine Arts, and allowed for a secular expansion of focus.  The Industrial Revolution brought technological  advances and innovations that are still building upon basics, yet  constantly  morphing and developing even newer materials, styles, and patterns. 

Even the simplest tribal tools often had carvings or decorative touches.  They may have been symbolic or just pure play.  Art is a natural creative urge, exclusive to mankind.  And yet, imagination can also jump into fields like Quantum Physics, and universal spiritual explorations.  It will all be linked and expanded geometrically as the Internet and transportation have joined the far corners of this world, and soon, perhaps other worlds.  These amazing connections and achievements are possible only through human creativity. 

“Cultural Creatives” is a term coined by Dee Hock in Birth of the Chaordic Age, an exploration of some ideas about dynamic creativity.  Read more by Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, and other physicists.  You’ll be amazed at the amount of creativity these people employ.  Sometimes it is play that leads to the most incredible insights.  Creativity and play are linked, zen-like, to a process in our brains. The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a unique, creative organization of exploring thoughts and universal truths.  It’s all about frontiers of thought.  These human creative efforts will be the assets that carry us into the future.

In its many forms and with its many Muses, creativity is what keeps life interesting.  Something new makes us react, stimulates new feelings, helps us relax and enjoy life.  Creative facets of cuisine, design, , literature, poetry,  art and music are sparks of life and common bonds of humanity.  Literature translates innovative thoughts to the masses. Greater, more complex ideas and solutions lead to dialogue and excitement.  These have kept our civilizations vital, moving forward, and hopefully improving since the beginning.  Let’s remember who we are, creative souls one and all.

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