LIVING CREATIVELY

LIVING CREATIVELY

RAQUEL CLARKE

I did not know I was creative until that day at work when my then boss was leaving my office, after a brief chat. From the door, she looked back at me, and smiled. She was so graceful and so considerate. She could discuss your gaps without making you feel criticized. She was all about honoring and valuing.

So, when she looked back that day, I looked up to see what beautiful nuggets would fall out her graceful mouth. She looked at my desk with papers everywhere, not in neat piles but in disrupted chaos, and she said, “You can always tell the desk of a creative” she said, before she glided away. I am not sure whether she intended a course correct, like get this mess cleaned up, which was not her style, or a polite bidding to make my desk neater. I had the highest regard for her insight and experience. If she said I was a creative, then dammit I was. I was about 35 then, and until that day, no-one had ever even suggested that I was creative. In fact, I never even thought about it. How I wish she had walked into my office sooner.

So, what is creativity? So many definitions exists for this ‘action word’ which means to produce something of value in a unique way.

For me being creative is my ability to decide the types of experiences I want to enjoy and then make them happen. My second belief about creativity, is that it is usually always inspired by something someone else already gifted to the universe. Let me make this real. As a coach, I am taught to look at life as a pie, and on this pie, the eight slices represent areas of my existence: my marriage, my career, my health, my finances, my spirituality. Looking at my life this way helps me imagine what I need to make each dimension in my life vibrant and fulfilled.

Creativity is not one of those raw talents like being a singer, or an artist; although those persons must also become creative in their expressions of their talents to really feel fulfilled and produce beautiful art. Creativity is born out of a desire to experience MORE. To live your life beyond the boundaries that have been presented to you, beyond the threshold of your personal lens.

Creativity then, which is an action word, is reliant on our ability to do the work. It is becoming clear about what experiences you want in life, what problems you are helping to solve, what relationships you are trying to cultivate. The first step then is to be clear about the need you are trying to address in your creativity. The next step is exploring

the ideas and possibilities, those in your head and using external inspiration to determine what creative ideas you wish to explore. The most important step is to have the energy, enthusiasm, and drive to make it happen.