#Creativity amidst Chaos

Creativity Amidst Chaos

As chaos swirls around us, it calls on our creativity. In the face of multiple challenges, we have to stay positive to maintain sanity. Though seeds of our problems were planted years ago, it was staying home with more free time that we recognized the effects of climate change, police brutality and a flawed health care system. Watching society fall apart so rapidly took most of us by surprise, yet it also became a call for action. According to faculty at Boston University’s School of Global Affairs, times like this often initiate change for the better. When the initial shock of the pandemic in Italy subsided, COVID-19 made the European Union stronger. Countries came together, sharing information and resources that helped them get better control of the virus.

I dare say that no one is complacent today. We’ve been forced to look inward and, though we’ve seen much that is bad, their is also good. We’re more realistic and more inventive in the way we communicate and manage our days.


Last weekend I went to a Zoom wedding. Rather than attend an over-the-top extravaganza, I sat in jeans watching two very happy people exchange vows with only six family members in live attendance. I was so close to the couple I could see smile lines on their faces. Their eyes twinkled as they looked at each other with such warmth that I was drawn into their circle. We gallery of watchers applauded and wished the couple well, saying we would be there for them as their married lives evolve.

Zoom marriages, celebrations of birth, memorials, and computer matches keep people connected. We are fortunate to live today and not in the 14th century during the black plague. Modern medicine, computers, heated and air cooled homes and supermarkets are blessings not to be taken for granted.

Last weekend, I watched an NPR documentary about 30,000 Jewish refugees confined to a one-square-mile ghetto area in Shanghai during the Japanese invasion of China. Isolated behind barbed wire fences for six years, they were forced to reexamine their values and find ways to stay positive. They educated their children and lived in the present, saying they were one day closer to the end of their confinement. They realized that posessions have little value for they are easily taken away. What is important is maintaining health, being with family and friends, having a joyful spirit, and accepting each day as a gift.

A friend witnessed the best of America while visiting a relative near the Big Hollow Fire north of Vancouver, WA. Fleeing families were invited into the homes of strangers or allowed to camp on their lawns. Food, clothing, toys, and equipment poured into the community to help refugees who did not know if they would have a home to return to. No one asked if they were a Republican or Democrat. Across the country, people give aid to those who need it and get joy from doing so. They are good citizens.

A woman called to tell me the pandemic was a blessing, for it gave her time to think about who she was and what she wanted to do next. She started planning a new business venture and is in the initial stages of executing her dream. Several artist friends in their studious are producing works inspired by the pandemic. Their insights will grace the public with magnificent displays of beauty when the pandemic is over.

A physician friend is making sculptures that surprise the neighborhood. Though a novice metalworker, he learned to weld, cut and assemble pieces that look professional. The woman across the street from him stays occupied by making quilts. She hangs lovely creations over her porch railing before giving them away.

Many people pass as they head for the trail by our house. One neighbor commented that because of her daily walks, she is stronger and healthier than she was last February. It is apparent from they way she looks that the excursions make her complexion glow.

There are more flex jobs and more people working in pajamas, proving to employers that they can get work done from home. It is likely that some hybrid of home and office work will evolve to replace “the daily grind” in an office setting. This should lower traffic congestion and decrease the need for new office buildings. Jobs for software developers and customer support increased dramatically.

Though vacations by plane decreased, families went on road trips and enjoyed nature where wildlife is thriving. Monkeys were seen roaming streets in Thailand. A bear was spotted navigating a town in Alaska while humans were indoors. My neighborhood, only ten minutes from center city, is frequent by deer, coyotes, owls, raccoons, possums, and hundreds of rabbits, animals not seen five years ago.

Pharmaceutical and health research companies are making massive technological advancements in their search for a vaccine. People who get COVID-19 today have a greater chance of surviving than they did seven months ago. There have been tremendous advances in digital health care that will serve us well in the future.

At a scale not seen in 50 years, millions of Americans returned to cooking. Interest in online tutorials and recipe websites have surged. IKEA, revealed how to make its famous meatballs and Swedish cream sauce and many restaurants are sharing their secret recipes so people can try them at home. Cooking could make a difference to the average person’s health, for those who do so eat less fat and sugar. According to Hans Tapariea, professor at NYU Stern School of Business, the newfound proficiency in in the kitchen could be lifesaving.

Drive-in concerts have sprung up all over the country for those who miss live music , yet don’t want to be in crowds. Lady Gaga made a new album for dance-floor fun use in our living rooms. Taylor Swift put out her best ever studio album. The Chicks returned after 14 years with “Gaslighter” reigniting a love of twangy empowerment songs.

The Opera in Barcelona, Spain performed to an attentive audience of house plants in July and then donated the plants to health care workers. And, Hamilton was made available to the public as a movie.Coronavirus sent theater online. In the U.K., an online view of One Man Two Guvnors by Richard Bean had 2.6 million viewers on Zoom and YouTube. Broadway and West End playgoers can watch musicals and dramas at home via Broadway HD for a monthly fee of $ 8.99.

Puzzles and board games are cool again and parents spend more time with their kids. Recognizing that homeschooling is hard, they are praising teachers again for the heroes they are. Now that most schools offer distance learning, teachers are learning how to keep students engaged. It is not easy. Thousands of tablets were handed out to students who need them. Computer literacy may improve because of it, becoming an equalizer of the future.

Museums got creative by showing their collections virtually, offering special classes and lecturers through Zoom, and developing in-house and distanced programming that meets social distanced and hygiene guidelines. OMSI started a program to help children with their homework.

Bike lanes stayed open when many park trails closed. Bicycle companies are doing a booming business. It is a healthy, non-polluting way to travel that has caused a shortage of cycles as anxiety over public transportation and a desire to exercise sent the demand surging.

As toilet paper disappeared from store shelves, bidet sales boomed, which was good news for our behinds…and less wasteful. Peer-reviewed research claims bidets are superior to toilet paper, a position supported by many doctors. Bidets are common in Europe, but Americans always had an aversion to the idea. The pandemic may bring about a change in attitude.

People looking for activities to occupy their free time after events closed, turned to gardening in record numbers. Burpee & Co. sold more seeds than any time in its 144 year history. Neighbors, new at farming, grew tomatoes and cucumbers in their yards and shared the excesses with their friends. Gardening was an especially good activity to do with children.

In our neighborhood, people raised garage doors and chatted with friends in driveways or on porches during happy hour. Neighbors brought their own drinks, food and utensils and sat on chairs arranged six feet apart. As always, there was much to say.

References:

Haneline, A (2020) Good News Prevails: 100 positive things that happened in 2020 (so far) retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2020/07/29/100-good-things-from-2020-positive-stories-news/3257222001/

Editors (2020) 8 Positive Things since the COVID-19 Pandemic Started, medikeeper. retrieved from https://medikeeper.com/blog/positive-things-since-covid-19-pandemic-started/

Vargas, T. (2020) He asked stranger to share positive things that happened to them because of the pandemic. Hundreds of revealing responses followed. The Washington Post. retrieved from STRANGER. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/he-asked-strangers-to-share-positive-things-that-happened-to-them-because-of-the-pandemic-hundreds-of-revealing-responses-followed/2020/07/17/d42dcfcc-c875-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html

Taparia, H. (2020) How Covid=10 is Making Millions of Americans Healtihier. New York Times. retrieved from  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/opinion/covid-cooking-health.html

Goldaum,C. (2020)Thinking of Buying a Bite? Get Ready for a Very Long Wait. New York Times. retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/nyregion/bike-shortage-coronavirus.html

Knibbs, K. (2020)As Toilet Paper Flies off Shelves, Bidet Sales go Boom-Boom. Wired. retrieved from d.com/story/toilet-paper-shortage-bidet-sales-boom/

Walljasper, C. & Polansek,T. (2020) Home gardening blooms around the world during coronavirus lockdowns.Reuters. retrieved fromhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-gardens/home-gardening-blooms-around-the-world-during-coronavirus-lockdowns-idUSKBN2220D3

(2020) Theatre companies are pushing storytelling boundaries with online audiences amid COVID-19. The Conversation. retrieved from https://theconversation.com/theatre-companies-are-pushing-storytelling-boundaries-with-online-audiences-amid-covid-19-141583

Morgan, D. (2020) Performing arts online: Bringing theater to socially-distancing audiences. CBS News. retrieved from ARTS. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-performing-arts-online-bringing-theater-to-socially-distancing-audiences/

Creativity: Nature or Nurture?

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Creativity:   Nature or Nurture?

Is creativity something that can be taught, or are a lucky few born with amazing talent? Are there genes that spark inventiveness or is imagination developed as a result of experience? These questions raise an age-old dilemma: nature or nurture?

While in my thirties, I took a class in creativity. It was designed to open minds to think inventively and to increase problem-solving abilities. For each session the instructor arrived with a packet of playful challenges and tests. One day, he brought in an old L’eggs stockings container that was shaped like an Easter egg with an opening in the middle. The class was instructed to close our eyes and imagine walking up and down the aisles of a supermarket as a stimulus for developing new uses for the plastic egg. Over eighty suggestions came bubbling forth, everything from using the container as a plant starter to making a musical rattle with dried peas inside.

The method our teacher so dramatically employed is known as Image Streaming (not to be confused with today’s computer use of the phrase). Behind closed eyelids it promotes the ability to recognize and describe mental images. To give it a try, start by concisely identifying a problem. Chose one where you understand all of the known surrounding facts. Now let your mind wander in and out of the problem by combining your subject with unrelated images. Lastly, find a place to relax and embrace your leisure time as an important part of the creative process. And voila!. . . you might be surprised at the outcome.

One of my university friends told me that when he gets stuck with a engineering problem he has a big lunch followed by an hour long nap. He claims that he usually opens his eyes to a new approach that leads around his obstacle. There are times when I like to take a trip in my car leading to nowhere in particular, letting my mind wander aimlessly while I pay attention to the road. On other occasions I set off for a long walk through the woods. Either activity suffices to give my ideas a boost.

MRI studies of grey matter structure show that during periods of relaxation, brains (especial those of creative people) are more active than previously imagined. In other words, your brain never really shuts down. Ferris Jabr, in a Scientific American article about why Your Brain Needs More Downtime writes, “Research on naps, meditation, nature walks and the habits of exceptional artists and athletes reveals how mental breaks increase productivity, replenish attention, solidify memories and encourage creativity.” These moments of relaxation are why so any people have their “ah ha” experiences while singing in the shower or shaving in front of a mirror. Putting concerns (and the computer) away and adding mental breaks to the day by walking in nature or meditating will add to your mental efficiency and ability to maintain attention.

Image streaming is generally practiced along with relaxation techniques for the purpose of challenging traditional thinking used in daily routines. We walk through a supermarket and buy food, never considering new uses for the products we see. Creative chefs do though. As they travel the isles their inner eye combines the herbs and produce they peruse in a never ending variety of palate pleasing mental images.

I am a strong believer that creative thinking processes can be learned or, at the very least, enhanced and am continually looking for tricks and practices to help me expand the visionary part of the formula. One game I have tried focuses on the mind’s ability to visualize. Over the holidays you might enjoy trying this exercise with your family. Start with closed eyes and imagine walking on hot coals. After a few minutes, describe the experience out loud, especially the sensory part of it. Then ask each person in turn act out what it is like to walk on hot coals. Have markers and paper nearby so everyone can draw a picture of the experience. These mental images are now captured for future contemplation.

Another goal of mine has been to improve my observation skills so that I have strong images to mingle when on a quest for a new idea. The following exercise works well with a mixed age group of children and adults. Place random objects in front of the participants and challenge them to look carefully at their shape, size and color. tell your party to ignore the original purpose of the objects and consider alternatives uses that can be silly and ridiculous, as well as practical. Anything goes when brainstorming. Children are very good at this exercise and often stimulate the adults to become more playful. Unfortunately, with age we find ourselves brainwashed by traditions that cause our minds to travel through narrow thought tunnels.

The arts provide a direct path to creativity. I once visited an art school in Cambridge, Massachusetts that held drawing classes for young children. For one exercise the staff made a large dark tunnel and placed it in the middle of the art studio. Each child was given a flashlight and asked to walk alone into the opening. Upon exiting, the student was immediately given a piece of paper and chalk and told to draw the experience. The images the children concocted were wonderful and varied, demonstrating how emotional experiences also influence outcome.

To help the young:  parents, grandparents and teachers can enrich the lives of their children by enrolling them in creative art programs. Employment opportunities of the future are likely to go to visionary individuals who have a flexible approach to thinking.

To stay inventive as an adult: take advantage of vacations or retirement as an opportunity for liberating your thinking processes so you are ready to pursue a new round of creative endeavors.

Want to know more?
http://www.scientificamerican.com -Why your Brain Needs More Downtime