"Creative thinking is much more than using your imagination to crank out lots of new ideas. Creative thinking is a lifestyle, a personality trait, a way of perceiving the world, a way of interacting with other people, and a way of living and growing." ~Gary Davis
While most of us prefer to think happy thoughts on a daily basis, we have all felt negative emotions at some point in our lives. No one has the perfect life. Negativity can creep in from time to time and ruin our plans. Everyone deals with tough times in their own way. Some of us have healthy coping mechanisms; some of us do not. Dealing with negativity is especially hard for people who have an idealized view of how life should be. When life is suddenly imperfect, many people just shut down. If you are like me, you prefer to internalize these negative thoughts and withdraw from the rest of the world until things are better. Although this makes my life easier, I’ve realized that it’s definitely not the healthiest way to deal with negativity! I recently read a very interesting piece about how to use your inner creativity to overcome these negative emotions. It was eye-opening for me. It can be found here:
Doing something creative is an amazing stress reliever. Plus, it's definitely healthier than downing a liter of Jack Daniels or eating an entire chocolate cake. Or shutting off the entire world for that matter. Creative projects work in the same way that exercise does. They stimulate your endorphins and awaken your senses, making those negative emotions shrink. Doing something that requires the use of the creative thought process is an excellent way to work through your negative emotions. Some people can find their greatest inspiration in the middle of a tragedy. Over Christmas break, after finals were over and I actually had some free time, I read this article and decided to deal with the negative emotions that had infiltrated my life by throwing myself into an Auburn Christmas tree of epic proportions. (I will include pictures in a separate post either tomorrow or next year. Blogging really takes a lot of time. Wow.)
Anyway, after reading the piece, I started thinking about the Christmas that my brother and I both had Chicken pox. This was way back in the 80's before the advent of the chicken pox vaccine. I was supposed to be a Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker and I knew every step by heart. Plus, our costume was pink tulle with white sequins. Who would want to miss that? I remember being so upset about it, and I remember my mother turning this negative into a positive through creativity. She pulled out the contents of the Art Closet and said, "Wouldn't it be fun to make an entire Christmas tree devoted to the Chicken Pox?" My brother and I ran wild with the idea. We made all kinds of ornaments out of construction paper, ribbon, glue and glitter. Every single ornament had its own case of the Chicken Pox. We accomplished this by putting dobs of glue and sprinkling red glitter over each ornament. This was certainly a fun diversion and before long, I had forgotten about the Nutcracker.
I’ve always done artistic things, but I never really took the time to think about the benefits of using art and the imagination for anything other than fun. Now, after having to deal with the first truly tough situation in my life, I look at creativity in a whole new light, and I challenge you to do the same. I challenge you to find a creative outlet for negativity. I believe that God gave humans creative capacities to help us in MANY ways. But the one I’m most thankful for at the moment is the ability to KEEP enjoying life in spite of tough situations. J
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