Where Does Creativity Begin?

I needed some inspiration today, and I found it in this blog post by Spencer Richard. The irony of that statement is that it subtly reveals the point Richard is making. He writes:

The problem with many creative people today is that they literally believe all they produce is to their credit. There are no more room for the Muses, no more room for the Guardian Angel, no more room for the Fairy. To them there is simply no magic anymore; God is dead and there is only the flesh and the fleshy brains underneath that create things, and whatever is created spouts from these brains like vomit. This, in my humble opinion, is nonsense.

Instead, he contends, our ability to wonder is truly what inspires creative thought and action--at least as we see it in creative people we admire. He writes:

There is something about this existence we all share that begs us to wonder, that yearns for each of us to muse on its delicacy, that invites us all to taste its wines and revel in their mysterious glow. The universe asks, “Did you create the rhythm of the sea, or the pounding of an eagles wings as they beat the air to take flight? No? Then maybe you should pull your head out of the dirt and start wondering about it.”

Achieving creativity, he says, begins with wondering about the object of our interest and how it inspires us--before we try to use it, build on it or change it. He writes:

When we create things, what we’re really doing is collecting things and arranging them in a way that might not have been seen before. We do not create the beauty of reality, we can only point to it through clever words and clever brush strokes. So when you sleep tonight and dream about being a great creative success, maybe instead tune your mind to the things in this universe that draw you. ...

For me, this statement attributed to Robert F. Kennedy, also paraphrasing playwright George Bernard Shaw, has long promoted a sense of wonder:

Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.

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Richard's article is featured today, March 17, in my daily online paper, Garbl's Creativity Connections, available at the Creativity tab above and by free email subscription. Today's issue also features several other especially helpful articles.