This is dedicated to the spirits of all those creative souls that we have since seen move on this month.  Whatever your belief system, what they each leave behind are their creative gifts. Lemmy.  Glenn Frey. Alan Rickman.  David Bowie.  Natalie Cole.  And more.  The Virtues Project™ defines creativity as “the power of imagination”.  The card for creativity says that, with it, we are “resourceful and intuitive”.  We have lost many “taps” into that power of creativity.  Still, we all have the capacity… in our own unique ways.  The 6 Thinking Hats speaks to this.  I believe that we are each called to find ours.

Still there is an impediment or two.  First, we sometimes find ourselves convinced that we are not creative.  We are all creative.  It is our birthright and we will explore this throughout posts in the future.  Secondly, what I somewhat dis-affectionately call the “polar age” has caused us to entrench what were once ideas into ideology.  There is us.  There is them.  There are typically only two sides; so we are told.  Ideology is a form of entrenchment that locks us into ways and paths that may or may not have worked in the past, but we find it difficult to practice any form of detachment in order to move forward.

This is dangerous.

Enter creativity.

Ideologies constrain us.  Ideas free us.

We are challenged in 2016 and beyond to reconsider how the private, public and not-for-profit sectors work together.  We are challenged in how the generations work together.  We are challenged in terms of how nations, developed and emerging, work together.  We are challenged to see our schools, companies, and communities in new ways, as part of some larger picture.

Peace and prosperity are not boring.  A world devoid of dysfunctional conflict is not numbing; nor is it a “utopian dream”.  It is the only path forward; and it requires work.  Our challenge is to find creative ways at the local and global levels to make it work.  It will take acceptance of where we are.  It will take the eyes of beauty in seeing our potential as individuals, companies, schools, communities and nations… as humanity.  It will take a creative spirit.

Still, and in the meantime, what about our very own corners of our world? How would a better understanding and a more daily manifestation of creativity make our workplaces, companies, campuses and communities better? How would creativity foster prosperity? How can we encourage it within our organizations from the front desk to the boardroom?

What if your team even more powerfully encouraged creative problem solving with your clients? What if team meetings could even more effectively center on creative solutions to the problems which often arise? How could our classrooms, work spaces and waiting rooms exhibit greater creativity?

These are questions with no answers provided.  The answers require our creativity.  What would a culture of inspiration, imagination and innovation look like at school, at home, at work and in community?  What role can play play in such arenas?  It is not lost on me that recreation is re-creation.

One of my favorite pieces of work on creativity is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.  I suggest you get it, read it, be challenged by it and apply it.  Either way, ponder the value of creativity.  Ponder its need.  Ponder the need in an ever changing world.  Ponder the ways that you can foster and advance it at school, family, work and community.  Check out sources of resources and activities.

Creativity.  It is a virtue, and it is our birthright and power.

Yes, enter creativity.  It is powerful. It gives us a new perspective and moves us outside of conformity. It might require other virtues which we will note in future posts; but it starts with that power to imagine.

Set a goal for creativity in 2016. For me, one such goal is a funky cool comic strip, with a difference (stay tuned)… called KARACTERZ™.  Where do you need to practice this virtue as a leader, going forward?  Where and how do you most need to help create new worlds locally and/or globally?

PS

CREATE