And Where We’ll Land, Nobody Knows

One blog I follow, Quiet: the Power of Introverts, by Susan Cain, provides a reading list each weekend.  Today, one of the offerings caught my eye because it involved creativity.  There is a lot of talk about creative thinking; teaching it to children in school, rewarding it in the workplace, and recognizing it in ourselves.  However, creativity is fragile and easily snuffed out.

Busy-ness will kill creativity faster than anything I know.  This is why a daily walk is beneficial for me- body, mind, and soul.  I can look and listen in the world outside myself and make connections with what I know, what I wish I knew, and what I’ve heard that someone else knows.  There is always a new angle from which to see familiar surroundings, and even in my neighborhood, there are always unexpected surprises.  (I have walked down a street one week, only to return the next week to find a home completely missing from its lot!  That raises all kinds of questions about economics, social patterns, environment, and engineering.)

The photo above is a pile of dead leaves, brought to life by a movement of the camera while the shutter is open.  Such a simple activity, but each photo opens new worlds of meaning to me when I view it on my monitor.

I challenge my readers to click on the link to Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking, read it, think about it, and act on just one discovery or reminder you find there.