Creativity 02

Alright. I could probably write books about the things that are going through my head today after having sat through so many different discussions, from so many different (well, kind of different) viewpoints, but that would make a really long blog post and reading page after page of computer screen text is both taxing on the eyes and the head, so there will be plenty of thoughts for many blogs to come.

First off I want to respond to a question Serenity had about one of the points from William Downs that I posted yesterday. Towards the beginning of his talk he made the statement that the arts, in someways, are really the least creative thing we do. The point that he was making is that creativity is seeing things that other people do not see and being able to apply that creativity in new ways. He was also talking specifically about here in America, and about how institutions, or organizations, or governments, or anything like that have such a control on what gets widely seen by people, that the art being made today is tailored to an audience and can get watered down.

I'm just telling you what he said. "The interviews and commentaries contained on this blog are the opinion of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the view of ORAN6E, its employees, affiliates, relatives, neighbors, dogs, cats, or goldfish."

So, what are my thoughts?

Like I said, I don't really know where to start, but lets go with this. The title of the symposium that I went to was "Do Institutions Stifle Creative Thinking?" and like one of the last speakers, my immediate response was "Heck ya they do." But after listening to what people were saying and comments from people in the audience I came to realize something. People use the term "institutions" like they are empty buildings, or charters on pieces of paper, when in reality an institution is people and how we think. So what that means is that institutions do not stifle creativity, people stifle creativity. And no matter how hard we try, as humans we will always stifle creativity. It comes down to this. Sin stifles creativity. The falleness of man stifles creativity. The limitations on our human thinking stifles creativity.

But there is hope.

I believe that God wants desperately to pour out His endless, meaningful creativity on us. Well, not so much on us, because creativity is something that we do. I think what He wants to do is pour his creativity through us. And take off the limitations that our sinful nature impose. I am not saying that there have not been great, creative things in the past, but they come in pockets, in individuals. What would happen if a group of people, say the church, began living and breathing in a place of God centered creativity. Then, I think we would have to redefine our understanding of creativity, of art, of inspiration, of collaboration - of living.