MoonRiver Pottery and Ceramics - 913-568-3734

with Paul W. Anderson, PhD

I am not going to try to convince you of anything about the value and benefits of creativity. I’m actually writing this to  get those art benefits for myself. Maybe these are life perks you never thought were worth the effort.

Writing is one act of creation, among many, that helps the creator. Creativity does things for me nothing else can. Whether you read along with my words and follow my thoughts or not, I will be the prime beneficiary of having put these thoughts to paper and made them available to you and others in the digital community.

Certainly, writing is not the only form of artistic expression that produces the benefits of creativity.

Actually, the expression of creativity happens when we produce anything, rather than consuming. Cooking is as creative an act as painting a Picasso.

Putting together something with clay or any medium may not end up as a museum piece alongside Henry Moore. Nevertheless, the health benefits are the same for each creator or artist (with the exception of  the monetary return).

Creative expression is our birthright as human beings. In a manner of speaking, everything we call human is the result of creative acts. This includes our societies, cultures, all the social institutions within those cultures. Every material object that exists is a result of human creativity. Seen or unseen, theory, mathematical formula, skyscraper or automobile, all are the results of human creativity.

Rather than fight it, I would urge you to accept this part of your true being and figure out how to reap the healthy benefits of creative acts in your personal and business life. But, denying our creative inclinations is a protective mechanism.  We don’t want to be evaluated and criticized.

Who Me? No, I Can’t Draw.  I’m No Artist!

What shuts us down is also another human characteristic. We compare ourselves to others and what they do or produce. We do this because we are social creatures. Social creatures take cues for their behavior and values from other beings of like kind when determining and regulating what they do. Whether it’s a flock of birds cavorting in autumn evening sky, or a herd of wildebeests surging across an African river, these phenomena of mass behavior are only possible to the extent that each individual animal or human being is observing other creatures and regulating their own behavior with that comparison.

Whether something is normal or abnormal, right or wrong, good or bad rewarding or punishable, it all depends upon it being compared to what others are doing or not doing. What any individual human being does is compared to others him or her and in so doing, their arts are judged.

This is how, by the age of eight or so, all of us have, as it were, decided creative expression is not worth the potential judgment or disapproval. So, we shut down our creative impulses and denying that we have anything resembling the birthright we came into this world to express. We become more so than not, “sheepeople” and stymie our creativity just to play it safe with other humans.

It’s not that we can’t paint or sing or play an instrument. It’s that we are not deemed or judged by ourselves and others to be “good enough.” Creative expression, therefore, is not worth the effort.

What we’re not told in kindergarten, let alone eighth-grade, is that any creative expression, even finger-painting, can give us the following benefits of creativity

• Stimulates problem-solving– Deciding what to put on a blank page is a problem. If you write anything, poem, prose or nasty Tweet, your brain has to solve the problem by considering options, choosing one and expressing  it. Any art or craft uses our problem-solving capacities to make it happen. Even if you paint by the numbers or something else similar in another artistic venture, your brain is engaged in decision-making and solving one problem after the other.
• Connects us with other people– Certainly it when what you have produced or created is experienced by others, your art work can be said in those moments to be functioning as a bridge between you the artist and the observers. In that sense there is connectivity via creativity.
• Our artistic impulses and expressions can connect us with others in another way, as well. Most art is built upon something somebody else has already created. The musician heard a riff another musician used, creates a facsimile of it and integrates it into their new song or musical arrangement. The old adage, “There is nothing new under the sun,” in a manner of speaking, is a reference to the profound social ingredients in all creative endeavors.
• “Engagement with creative activities has the potential to contribute toward reducing stress and depression and can serve as a vehicle for alleviating the burden of chronic disease.” Expressing your creativity can help to keep you physically healthy.

Your art has mental health benefits– In addition to the physical health benefits, it helps to reduce stress. Artistic expression  enhances whole-brain functioning and thinking. Even looking at art or listening to music has these mental health benefits which are even amplified if you are the artist actively engaged in creative expression.

It doesn’t matter what medium you use, clay, wood, fabric or metal, etc. Once your brain and hands or voice become integrated with your mind to give expression to something new, this process grows faith and trust in yourself. Creative expression is practice trusting your instincts and gaining personal confidence from expressing them. This confidence carries over into decisions we make daily in all areas of life. To say it one more time, even finger painting will help you recognize that your work and what your inner self creates matters and has value.

Expressing your creativity is a pathway to discovering your authenticity and true individuation. T

To look at something you made, listen to something you composed or read something you wrote is feedback to your inner self of your uniqueness. No matter how it may or may not be judged by others or how much it resembles artistic expression of others, what you create is concrete validation of your self-hood.

One other delightful outcome and benefit of expressing your creativity is that it can lead to the experience of timelessness and what is called “flow.” Creativity can be a gateway to a somewhat hypnotic state that transcends time and space. It can allow you to experience the creator within you free of judgment, but fully aware of the tremendous life-giving energy we all come from.

Creativity may be the greatest freedom we can know as human beings. Creative acts and expressions invite you to dwell in the creative zone where exploration trumps messiness. Curiosity overcomes worry about order or chaos. Creativity is the guide back to the experience of childhood innocence where awe is more important than being good, smart or right.

I think I will stop here. Let me say the last few moments creating this article have been delightful for me. Not only do I feel relieved and unburdened of the idea I had for this article, but I have given myself all of the benefits listed above.

How you dance with your own creative capacity is your responsibility. However, I would urge you to indulge yourself and be accountable to a major aspect of your humanness: express yourself and also get the benefits of creativity in your life.