Stepping Stones: a meditation on the nature of creativity
Getting Cosy with Creativity – with Aran Rees
Today’s post is very short. That’s because I want you to spend less time reading and more time reflecting on what you’ve read. For the reading allow about 60 seconds. A good rule of thumb is to spend ten times that long, ten minutes in this case, reflecting.
Last week I shared some thoughts on the danger of Maslow’s Hammer; the tendency for the tools we use to narrow our perspective and leave us blinkered, rigid, and predictable.
This brings us to the single hardest problem for creativity:
- We use tools to help us express creativity
- Over time we get better at using the tools
- The better we get the more we rely on the tools
- The more we rely on the tools, the worse we get at expressing creativity
I see creativity as a relationship, a way of existing in the world
In my view, it’s wrong to think of creativity as a set of skills or tools. I see creativity as a relationship, a way of existing in the world. People who have a strong relationship with creativity are somewhat like children, driven by curiosity, open to change; keeping a beginners mind, ready to receive. Tools can help us to achieve this relationship but they aren’t a substitute for it.
Where last week I shared the intellectual basis for this argument, this week I want to share with you a meditation that I find helps me both to understand this idea more deeply and to communicate it more clearly; I call it ‘Stepping Stones’.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The more we rely on the tools, the worse we get at expressing creativity” quote=”The more we rely on the tools, the worse we get at expressing creativity”]Stepping Stones
If we want to get to the other side of a deep, fast flowing river, it would be very risky to try to swim unaided! Instead, we look for stepping stones leading to the other side.
With each stone, we come closer to where we’re going. The stones feel solid and safe but the river is rushing past and, with each moment, a stone might slip and we might fall in!
It’s wise to use the stones but it’s foolish to stand on them for too long. Remember our confidence will only grow until the moment we fall.
https://openforideas.org/blog/2016/12/06/stepping-stones-a-meditation-on-the-nature-of-creativity/https://i1.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/steppingstones.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1https://i1.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/steppingstones.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1Personal Creativitycreativity,getting cosy with creativity,maslow,meditation,stepping stones,tools
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks. nimabi
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you. 20bet
The point of view of your article has taught me a lot, and I already know how to improve the paper on gate.oi, thank you. https://www.gate.io/zh/signup/XwNAU
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
Well this article needs to be spread to all the people out there who really need to hear this out. I’ve never read such a pretty article ever. Appreciate your creativity.
This article was incredible and the creativity is something that should come from within for emotional or intellectual level. Also showed up the creativity of your mind.
Thanks! Wow. It’s been a while since I wrote this one. I should use this analogy more. 🙂
This was a very inspirational article Aran, creativity is something that comes from within and you should not be dependent on tools for that.
Very interesting article, well written and the stepping stone analogy was great.Thanks for sharing.