Creativity

Celebrating Creative People

Over the years, I’ve been blogging about people who I have found fascinating with their creativity, and I would like to highlight some of those posts here, to inspire you to continue to work on your creative projects.

For years, I thought that I needed permission or approval to do something creative. Not sure why. I would jot down ideas, keep a million plots for books twisted in my brain, have a shelf of half-completed projects in my house, but I didn’t finish them, and I certainly didn’t show any one anything. Then, two amazing people inspired me. My sister, who started a writing group and kept saying, “what are you working on?” I was in awe at her ability to just work. She said to me, “Ryss, if you need permission, then I give you permission to do projects.” I LOVE her for that. The second was a talk by [then] President Dieter F. Uchtdorf who wrote a talk called “Happiness, Your Heritage” in October 2008. It inspired me at a time when I needed a creative outlet more than anything else in this world.

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” October 2008.

Check out these great reads and I hope that you begin to create today!

And a final word on creation and this post, is our new tagline (that my middle daughter thought of for this site) –

What will you create today?

Creating with my daughters has been enjoyable, but now that they are older – WOW! This is getting good. Stay tuned!


Advertisement
Creativity, Uncategorized

My fantastic idea… is someone else’s!

I just got a book out of the library yesterday about encouraging creativity. At first I thought – oh man!  That’s my idea.

Has that ever happened to you?

It seems as if every time I get a really wonderful idea, I google it, and it’s been taken.  Book titles, web sites, crafts, toys, etc.  ARRGHH!!

The other day, my brother texted me and sent me a book title saying, “this sounds like the book you’re working on.”

He was right – if he meant that it was a fantasy adventure story for young boys.  But then again, there are a lot of those.

So, I looked through the creativity book.  The author had some wonderful ideas.  But I would never be able to do what she does, and I doubt very much that she would be able to do what I do.

We each have the ability to put our own creative twists into everything that we do.  Our unique personalities, circumstances  and resources will change the way that we approach any problem – even if some of the ideas are similar.

So I have to give myself permission to continue with this site – as hodgepodge and quirky as it is.

And I have to give myself permission to write my adventure story for kids – even though others have done the same.

Creativity prompt – make a list of ideas that you have had that someone else has come up with as well.  Now take one of those ideas and re-invent it.  How can you make it better?