No Such Thing as a Non-Creative Person!!!

Our group, minus a few members, celebrating our first anniversary at the Chat House

It seems like just yesterday, but it actually was one whole year ago.  I had yet another of my "ideas" come to me in the shower.  This was a doozy and it was borne out of something I had heard on a podcast months before that.  I can't recall many of the details, don't even know the name of the person who was doing the presentation, but I do refer to him as a "Scientist" when I explain what I heard and where I went with it.

The "Scientist" was talking about my favorite subject.  Creativity.  So, I really tried hard to pay attention and to capture at least the essence of what he was about to say.  I wanted to come away with some gems, some new information from a person I was sure I could trust.  I wanted the "scientist" to validate my gut feeling that there were more creative people out there just waiting for their turn to prove it; that I wasn't the only one discovering something in myself that had been hidden so well for so long.  And bingo!  He said it.  Bada-bing-badda-boom, these words rolled off his tongue and I hung on every one of them:

"ALL HUMANS, BY THEIR VERY NATURE, ARE CREATIVE.  WE HAVE TO BE.  BUT, IT IS WHEN WE ARE TOLD THAT WE LACK CREATIVITY OR THAT IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, THAT WE START TO BELIEVE OTHERWISE."

I got goosebumps.  I broke out in a cold sweat.  I almost created a heart-attack but I was so over joyed and so ready to use that pearl and the next day, I took another shower and formulated a plan.

The plan was amazingly simple.  Contact a few friends and invite them to get together for a little meeting. Date and time were designated.  Friends were selected; some had already shown their creative sides, some had not yet but I had a hunch.  Everyone was game.  Five contacted.  Five agreed.  All showed up despite the fact that they did not know each other nor did they have so much as a hint about why they were asked to join on to this nefarious adventure.  Strangers with a common assignment to come with their own "creative" interpretation of the word SUNSET.  I asked that they conceal their finished product until it was time to present it to the group.  Adult version of "show-and-tell"?  Yes.

We met at a favorite meeting place here in the Mid-Cape.  The Cape Cod Chat House.  A place where it's easy to sit down with a great cup of coffee and five of your friends who are about to discover that they are creative, even if they believe differently or were told to get a real job.  Within minutes, following the introductions (I must admit, it sounded very much like a support group at that point), they heard my spiel about the "Scientist" and about the theory of creativity and then, one by one, they proved the theory.  Paintings, prose, quilts, poetry, collage.  Show and tell was shown and told and everyone was smiling and begging for more.  More became twice a month, same time, same place, new words.  And then, more became more "members" and we never missed a beat.  By Winter, we were up to twelve regulars and the words became more and more challenging.  The results, they were amazing.  Creativity oozed and leaked out of the corners.  More quilts, weavings, paintings, floral arrangements, collages, poems, stories and fairy houses were pulled out of bags, ooohed and aahed over.  Smiles, laughs, celebrations and bonding.  Oh, so much bonding.  What had started as a group of strangers is now a larger group of friends who love being together and most of all, love being creative.  Like kids in school, only so much better.

We celebrated our first anniversary last week.  We've named ourselves "Creative Chatters" after our beloved Chat House.  When it closes for the winter, we meet at the Cultural Center where we are more than welcomed.  They also "get it" and support our pursuits.  A huge thank you to Brett and John and Janet at the Chat House and Bob, Lauren and Robin at the Cultural Center and to all of the artists who knock themselves out each and every month to prove the science, thank you for supporting my theory.

Creativity is acceptable.  Everyone is creative.  And "maintenance" was one very hard word to create to!