You got it | Being creative in a creative world
“There are seeds that need fire. Seeds that need freezing. Seeds that need to be swallowed, etched in digestive fire, expelled as waste. Seeds that must be smashed open before they’ll germinate.” ~ from The Overstory by Richard Powers
The germination from seed to plant is an act of creation quite varied, at times misunderstood, and layered in complexity. A fascinating analogy is how the same applies to how we unfold, grow, and express the truth of who we are. The energy which resides in the seed is like the force upon which the breath rides. Powerful. Susceptible to perpetual motion. Expanding and contracting in a never-ending state of consciousness.
I think of this force as a creative spark. Both in the seed and in the body, it ignites a chain of events. It’s fueled by pure intelligence and potentially malleable by the slightest nuance in environmental conditions. From here a dormant genetic code will unfurl into the essence of what it is.
Being creative, as the word infers, is related to creation. It’s inherent in everyone and everything. I think being outside (often) has the potential to amplify creativity, if only for the fact that we’re moving around, in, on, and through a magnificent reservoir of creative energy. There’s nothing quite like being immersed in the natural world which is actively pulsating from one iteration to the next, evolutionary tangents and all.
I’m a fierce advocate of outside exposure and participatory acts that blur the boundary between the inside and outside. This can be done with a picture window, small garden scapes, home cooking with whole ingredients, even cooling or heating the home through architecturally savvy means in order to be in harmony with the locale. There are LOTS of ways.
My hypothesis is this: when we truly know and experience this integration, taking care of nature seems like a no brainer. We have to give a damn. For without it life would come to a screeching and terribly dull halt. Unfortunately the very model of capitalism provides a kind of immunity from the alternative. Leaving many either ennui or anxious or too distracted to get outside in order to slow down.
Ever find it exhausting and insulting that “our fears and anxieties are regularly exploited by the mainstream advertising industry to feed the capitalist system.”* Deep connection to self and source, happiness, that which brings joy rivals negativity bias. So the question becomes how can being replace buying? How can stewardship with the land arts replace the relentless need for more? How do we know when enough is enough? We all have to find our sweet spot of integrity.
Cultivating a creative force
As I expand as a writer and editor I find it’s not that different from working in the garden. There is a commonality in the process of creation and creativity when working with something alive, reactive, yet finite.
To keep my mind curious I often play with the following** practices. They help me keep an explorer's mind. Consider them tools to hone your observations and thoughts and at the very least, moments that you can enjoy yourself and your surroundings.
Creative methods for seeding a new kind of living
Pattern spotting
Consciously noticing or actively looking for patterns no matter how random or abstract. I will often do this while gazing into the limbs of the mulberry tree outside my office window. The shadows cast patterns, the wind changes how the light pours through, the leaves will move, the colors through similar make different patterns.
Color identifying
Practice identifying color at first glance. There may be more than you realize. I love this practice and find it a soothing practice to scan and notice without having to ‘discern’ or ‘figure out’. Isn’t it funny how limiting the word green is to describe a forest.
Matching
Look out for objects, forms, shapes, anything. . .which visually match each other but are functionally completely different. The ponderosa pine which stands close to the wooden electric pole. The garden gate which is outlined with honeysuckle and the backdoor.
Remember we live in a creativity container where perception and perspective are not exactly the same. It’s hard to describe, but somewhere in the process of contemplation you will experience a momentary flash of clear spaciousness. It’s like the difference between still and bubble water. The static disappears. What ideas arise within you? Do you notice overlap, concepts in design and nature that exist in multiple art forms or ways of being?
*Ruby Warrington Sober Curious The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol (New York: Harper One 2019) p133
** Inspired by the lovely work of Philippa Stanton