Changing the way we look at genius…

Not long ago I came across what appeared to be a ‘fun’ read – Eat, Pray, Love – by Elizabeth Gilbert.

After purchasing it, I gave it a home on my book shelf until I had time for a light read. When that day finally came many months later, I regretted having left it to collect dust for so long, and having initially thought of it as frivolous.

The story is based on the journey of a tormented woman looking for happiness, this of course is not a new idea, but what made this book so special, was how well it was written. The creative investment used to bring the story to life and its ability to pull the reader in to the character’s misery, pain and eventual enlightenment, is what ultimately made it a  wonderful read.

At Chama we’re always looking for how creativity is applied to all things old and new. Gilbert’s understanding that her international best seller is akin to the freakish luck of winning a lottery, has begun looking more closely at the concept of creativity.

Her newest work (not yet released) explores the concept of – creative genius – how it works, how to manage it, and if its really something we own or borrow temporarily.

Her interesting view and research on creativity can be seen below or on TED’s website.

The Dynamics and Intelligence of Creativity

When do we start being creative, where does it come from and how important is it to our future? This is an important issue affecting us more than we realize, and a question that’s finally getting due attention.

Wikipedia’s definition of creativity – Creativity (or “creativeness”) is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts.

Unfortunately, until now ‘creativity’ for the most part, has been considered a cheap commodity relegated to dreamers, and believed to only gain real value after an artists death, but thanks to the last decade of technological change, the currency of creativity may just be on its way up.

paula-rego1.jpg

Creativity surrounds us in every day things from cars to cutlery – in what we do, see, use, eat, read, how we communicate, move and even how we feel; but how often do we take this powerful force seriously? The technology, communications and environment we live in today, have all pushed us to look at our world differently, and now maybe for the first time in history, we’re becoming cognizant that our survival is based on, and needs human creativity to flourish.

We are all born creative, giving us the ability to solve problems and innovate the world around us, it is also the only element that remains to tell our story when we are gone, the key to our human heritage. The proof that we existed and contributed from mind to matter, this has been proven time and again, from wall carvings and pyramids to the medicine and technology we use today. So what are we doing to encourage and support this precious and limitless asset, today and the future? Here is a fascinating perspective on this gift, and how we educate ourselves out of one of our most dynamic and collaborative survival tools.

Note: the video will play on TED Talks page.

The creativity and humor Sir Ken Robinson used to present this topic, is a quiet affirmation of the powerful and captivating connection we have to creativity even with just the spoken word. A human talent that resonates deep and can truly make a difference in how we live, listen, interact and perceive the world around us.

Robinson’s talk delivers an invaluable lesson – for people and economies to flourish, creativity needs to be encouraged, supported and respected in its many dynamic forms, and we need to appreciate the human potential in its entirety, rather than focus solely on wringing out more academics.

It’s the creative genius in us all, and what we bring to fruition that makes our world interesting – through design, art, music, dance, food, language and technology to name a few, it’s in everything we do. Creativity evolves our cultures and enriches our lives with depth, diversity and passion, making what we can accomplish limitless. If you stop to think for a moment, everything that surrounds us today, was once just a ‘creative’ idea. Can you imagine the world we would live in, if we actually focused on cultivating human creativity instead of depressing it?