May 2 // Creativity is for Everyone
You (and your kids) might be more creative than you think!
Would you consider yourself a creative person?
Some people are clearly artistically gifted, and some people don’t seem to have that gift. If you’re like me, you might see beautiful art (like those Zentangle entries!) and think, “My brain just doesn’t work like that.” I don’t visualize swirly shapes or think about experiences in poetic metaphors. I don’t taste a soup and think “it needs more cardamom,” and I seem to be unable to create “harmony” with items in interior design.
Young kids don’t think like that. Like Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Most kids—if not all of them—naturally have so much built-in curiosity, confidence, desire to collaborate, and creativity.
It’s heartbreaking when kids don’t have the encouragement or resources to continue to see themselves as creators, and they grow up thinking they’re just not the kind of person who can make new and beautiful things. The Oxford definition of creativity is “the use of the imagination or original ideas,” so you might find that you and your kids are creating in more ways than you might expect.
When your toddler is bouncing his toy dinosaur on the couch and making roar sounds, he’s being creative. When your tidy six-year-old is carefully organizing her jewelry collection, she’s being creative. When your eight-year-old dips a banana in spaghetti sauce to see if it would be a yummy new food combo, he’s being gross, but, yes, creative. They are all using their own original ideas to bring into existence something that wasn’t there before. That’s huge.
Now let’s talk about you.
You’re being creative when you:
arrange seasonal items on your mantle
cook a delicious meal
start a pressure washing business
take iPhone photos that bring joy
tend a garden
write a thoughtful letter
follow a knitting pattern and make socks
help connect people with new friends
Do you know something else that’s super creative? Starting a family, growing a family, blending a family, strengthening a family. When you take part in the shaping of a family, you are making something new. And that’s beautiful.
This Month’s Challenge: 30 Days of Creativity
This month we challenge you to create. I’m always inspired by the annual Inktober prompts, but drawing doesn’t come naturally.
However, when you expand your idea of what “creative” means, you might find yourself delighted as you make something new through the medium of music, cooking, or choosing an outfit! And your kids might surprise you with how the prompts can inspire their LEGOs, at-home play productions, or even just how they play with sticks outside.
You have no idea how excited I am to see what you all come up with (and what my own family comes up with! We’ve had a blast so far.)
We’ll share more examples tomorrow, but here’s a list of ideas so you can get started!
Hopefully that encourages you! You are creative!
Warmly,
Hope and the Family Scripts team
P.S. From a Christian perspective, we believe all people are made in God’s image, and being creative is a huge part of that. J.R.R. Tolkien talked about the concept of “sub-creation”; we are created beings who also create. It’s really rich to think about!