MY TURN column
The Courier-Post
March 5, 2008
On a frigid Saturday night recently, my wife and I found ourselves in
During the cast party, Matt, 24, introduced us to the creative team: the playwright, director, lead actress, costumer, lighting designer, and stage manager. I stood back and observed the child I raised interacting with his artistic collaborators, inspired individuals who transported theatergoers into a magic world of light, sound and illusion.
I was awed by the collective talent, and wondered about the creative process.
How is it that some are divinely charged with the ability to shape familiar materials into new or unusual effects? Is creativity innate, or can it be learned and nurtured? Is being creative the domain of the young or can we become more creative as we age?
As an educator, I see the result of allowing children to creatively explore and interact with their environment. At the day-care center I oversee in Camden, more than 100 pre-schoolers bounce between the water table, sand area, and the dress-up corner, trying out, without criticism from peers or adults, the roles and relationships they will carry into their future.
With their children grown, today's baby boomers are rediscovering their creative pursuits, replacing child-centered activities with personal inspirations found in places like book groups, gourmet cooking clubs, and museum lectures.
John Krout, professor of gerontology and director of
My wife and her female friends have taken to monthly knitting and conversation get-togethers, and many in the group are also active watercolor painters.
Some believe that the approach of one's later life actually stimulates creativity with increased urgency, intensity and energy. Writer Ray Bradbury said, "We are all cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."
To the ancient Greeks, the word inspiration literally meant being "breathed upon" by the gods, with creative thoughts being the result.
"Many people are now living into their 80s and 90s with reasonably good health," says
I am encouraged to think that Goethe completed "Faust" at 80;
In his book, "The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life," Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., points to four important factors for boomers. Creativity strengthens our morale in later life; contributes to physical health as we age; enriches relationships, and is our greatest legacy.
The Japanese have a proverb that reads, "I will master something, and then the creativity will come." Boomers have mastered many great life skills, developed many great talents. They have learned to recognize inspiration when they see or hear it, and now they are finding time to respond to it.
I've come to realize that creativity is not limited to the fine arts. I have seen creativity manifested in the teacher who creates a knowledge breakthrough with a struggling student, as well as in the salesman who creates opportunities for customer satisfaction. Everyday, in every workplace, we are called upon to use creative powers to advance assigned tasks, or at a minimum to try and move the clock on the wall faster toward
It doesn't much matter whether you get your creativity as an ardent participator, or as an arms-length observer/appreciator. When you invite your Muse to stand close by and shower you with the necessary inspiration, the spirit inside of you comes out to play, and create.
Doug Otto is a private school superintendent living in Haddonfield. He leads writing and poetry workshops and can be contacted at DougOttoWrites@gmail.com
