Digging Deep Into Creativity
As Covid-19 spikes, restrictions drag on, and pandemic fatigue settles in, the best coping strategy I’ve encountered is “Dig deep into creativity.” The virus has caused untold suffering and grief, but research shows that creativity can reduce stress, help regulate emotions, and promote healing. For me, it can also generate satisfaction and joy.
But what IS creativity? How do you dig deep into it? What if you believe you’re “not creative?”
I pondered this. Create: make something out of nothing. That’s magic, right? Creation myths, creation stories, chaos, formlessness, the Void… Are we talking about the Meaning of Life? The Ultimate Scheme of Things?
No. Seeds. Germination. The everyday miracle of seeds germinating—I observed it yesterday in my garden. Winter rye, the grains swollen and split open, tiny fresh shoots emerging. I had a hand in this: I sowed the seed.
I dug deeper. According to my trusty dictionary, ‘creativity’ stems from creative: having the ability or power to create things; characterized by originality and expressiveness; imaginative.
And deeper. Meanings of “create” include: to cause to exist, bring into being, originate; to give rise to, bring about, produce. Create comes from Middle English createn, from;Latin creare. The dictionary definition ended with a note: [See ker-3 in Appendix *]
And deeper. Meaning of Latin creare: to bring into being, give birth to, sire, make, produce. Interesting. And what is this ker-3? The Proto-Indo-European root verb meaning: to grow. By extension, to make something grow; to start growing.
Aha! Growing. Making something grow. Seeds. Germination. Magic afoot.
Throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, creativity has been afoot, and sharing abounds. Everyday creativity blossoms in a zillion ways, providing hits of inspiration, encouragement, and humor like flashes of light amid the pall of anxiety, and suffering.
On nearby streets, signs popped up in windows: “We’ll get through this together.” “Keep calm and carry on.” An artist bent over the sidewalk with chalk, creating a design of pastel triangles and a message: “Better days ahead.” Teddy bears appeared inside windows to delight tots. A neighbor cranked out masks with her sewing machine, then emailed every household on our block, inviting us to take one or two from a box on her front porch. Neighbors devised ways to safely host dinner parties outside, and voices and laughter spilled out into the night. Sounds of hammering and sawing came from a backyard, where an outgrown playhouse gave way to a newly-roofed cabana, furnished with items scored on Next Door. A mother and daughter delivered a bag of luscious plums to every household. Halloween brought “the candy bar graveyard” of full-sized bars on sticks, and Covid-style tables of socially distanced treats, some attended by costumed grownups determined to join the fun.
Creativity takes endless forms. Elsewhere, scores of people in quarantine recreated famous paintings, hilariously featuring vegetables, toilet paper, blankets, their pets, their kids, themselves, and more.
Museums opened their collections to the world via video. Travel guides came up with virtual tours packed with fascinating commentary. Symphonies produced online concerts complete with peeks into musicians’ homes. Businesses devised a multitude of solutions to stay afloat.
A New York Times article headlined “When A Few Thousand Strangers RSVP” described a breathtakingly creative wedding. One bride wanted “The Biggest Queerest Wedding Ever,” the other wanted a small, intimate gathering. Their compromise: a private ceremony with no guests, and an online, real-time ceremony to which “everyone” was invited.
These examples and countless others testify to the power of creativity, of digging deep and finding joy. German historian Philipp Blom (quoted in a November 2020 National Geographic article titled, “Let’s Not Waste This Moment”) writes, “In times of upheaval, new stories grow through cracks in the concrete of official truth, strengthened by uncertainty.”
Yes, we’ll get through this uncertain time, individually, and together. Creatively. Let’s keep digging, growing, and finding joy, together.