"One of the great joys of life is creativity. Information goes in, gets shuffled about, and comes out in new and interesting ways." ~ Peter McWilliams
Creativity may be the great joy of life, but a Business Week study showed that an adult of 40 is about 2% as creative as a child of five.
What robs us of creativity?
Ourselves, our educational institutions, and society. The culprit is conformity and the rigid standards that demand formal training. According to artistic genius Pablo Picasso, "The chief enemy of creativity is 'good taste.'"
"Sometimes I think creativity is magic," expressed designer Maya Lin. "It's not a matter of finding an idea, but allowing the idea to find you."
But did you know that the Coca Cola logo was designed by an accountant with no degree in graphic design? A sculptor invented the ball point pen? And the Wright brothers, bike mechanics not aeronautical wizards, created the airplane.
"Creative activity cannot be forced," said educator Charles D. Orth. "The creative people of this world have always been the free, unchanneled minds, the non-conformists, the individuals, the uninhibited."
Don't let schooling interfere with education. Create and breathe in laughter, fantasy, and the unexpected. "Conformity," said President John F. Kennedy, "is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."
