Welcome to the Creative World. Now What?

Many think that creativity is the sole domain of artists, or of a particular type of artistry. This is perhaps common because of how the creative, right-brained perspective is viewed in Western culture. If we isolate the creative, read: artistic type as a loner, isolated, moody, perhaps slightly off-kilter, then it is easier to contrast and negate with a more left-brained, logical, empiricist world view.

The truth is, it's the right brain that holds the power, the big view, the ability to see the whole picture, which includes imagination and intuition. These are skills every single person possesses, yet many never give themselves the chance to embody and explore what the world looks like through this lens. This creative, intuitive, imaginative perspective sees reality much more clearly–much more real–than the objective, scientific perspective ever could.

But it gets better: the right brain provides points of view that assist the left brain to grasp what is actually meaningful, and not simply what is present to the senses.

So what do we do with that knowledge? Do we risk becoming daydreaming dilettantes? Certainly we should keep our feet firmly on the ground and never mind all this lollygagging about with our "inner eyes," right?

We live in a point in time where is not only a good idea to switch our preferences in hemispheric dominance, it is essential. If we continue to promote a one-sided, finite perspective on our behaviors then we will run out of ideas very quickly. However, by engaging our creative side, our abstract side, our weighing multiple points of view side, we can more easily work together and creative infinitely more positive outcomes for everyone involves.

So, welcome to the creative world. What do you want to do first?

(suggested reading: The Master and His Emissary, by Iain McGilchrist)