PERSPECTIVES ON CREATIVITY

Creativity is inborn; it is the quality we bring to the activities we perform. It is an attitude, an approach that is inside-out, not outside-in.

Do not confine creativity to anything in particular.

In expressing ourselves, no matter what we do, even in mere walking, there is creativity.

When we sit silently, in contemplation, doing nothing, it is the non-doing that can be a creative act.

Buddha sitting under the Bodhi Tree, doing nothing, is one of the greatest creators the world has ever known.

Recognise that creativity is within; then consciously let it loose . . . and enjoy its flow.

We come into this world with a specific destiny - something to fulfill, some message to deliver, some work to be completed. We are not here accidentally - we are here meaningfully.

There is a creative purpose within us. The Whole intends to do something through us.

Any life lived fully will be creative. Some salient elements of creativity include:

- Consciousness . . . how awake, and awakened, are you to life, and to your state of being?

- Compassion . . . are you aflame with empathy, do you have feeling towards diverse aspects of life?

- Connectivity . . . are you able to seek opportunities and see possibilities by connecting the dots of life?

The individual who can develop these three qualities simultaneously becomes a three dimensional artist. The person who claims, and exclaims, that it ‘impossible’ to be creative is a victim of being polarised at one extreme of a set of continuums. He or she behaves in self-defeating ways, such as:

- Self-Consciousness, instead of Flow;

- Perfectionism, instead of Self Acceptance;

- Flat Intellect, instead of Bubbly Intelligence;

- Blind Belief, instead of Open-Mindedness;

- The Guru Game instead of Self Acceptance and Acceptance of Others for who and what they are;

To unlock your creative potential, or to disentangle yourself from creative confusion, consider these perspectives:

- Become a Child Again;

- Be Ready To Learn;

- Find bliss in the Ordinary;

- Be a Dreamer;

To remain aligned, and stimulated, ask yourself four questions:

- Do you live in the NOW?

- Do you look for esteem from without?

- Do you exercise all of your intelligences?

- Do you understand that life is a form of energy and information exchange?

[Excerpted from the 'Ideas on Ideas' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

Say Keng's personal comments:

The way I see it, the crux of Dilip Mukerjea's principal premise in the foregoing essay is very obvious: WE ARE ALL BORN CREATIVE!

When we believe that creative solutions can be found at all times, we can start to see many possibilities ahead.

Our first or preliminary thoughts serve to prime our minds.

With the foregoing thoughts as raw material, our imagination, & fueled by our passion & enthusiasm, then propel us to spring forward. They open up possibilities & opportunities, often beyond the few limited options we initially entertained.

The eventual outcome is a redefinition, & may even be a reinvention, of ourselves that we would never have thought of in the first place.

From my perspective, I always see creativity as the igniter in the whole endeavour of opportunity finding as well as personal change.