| By Patrycja Szczeniowska,
on Sunday, 06 May 2007
|
An interesting article about creativity
and art ,
I think it's very true what Stephen Ruppenthal is pointing out.
How Creativity
Keeps Us Ageless
Four tips to unleash your creative
energies and counter the effects of aging in the process.
By Stephen Ruppenthal
Have you ever thought that giving yourself
the time to do that sketch or write that short story might help you
stay younger? Studies have shown there is indeed a vital
relationship between creative expression and healthy aging. When we
draw and paint, we delve deep into the springs of vitality,
increasing our sense of self-worth, determination, and achievement.
But the University of Kentucky’s Prof. David Snowdon, who
tracked the health of 678 Catholic nuns over 70 in his important
Alzheimer’s study, showed us much more: he was once given a
ceramic sculpture by one of the nuns, Sister Esther Boor, who had
taken up ceramics at age 97. When asked by Snowdon to join his
project, Sister Esther had originally told him, “I’m
too busy with my art to take part in a study of old people." She
was not aware of growing older, and she passed away at 107.
All of us know that, when deep in the
process creating a short story, a painting, a new business, or an
invention, time seems to stand still. Creating something totally
new freshens our whole system and frees us from limitations that
otherwise can hold us down and drain us of life. Here are four ways
you can counter the effects of aging by unleashing your creative
energies, testing your own powers of making new things, and
breaking through to new solutions:
1. Just start,
don’t think.
If you feel too emotionally drained or just plain blocked, get a
pad of paper and pour out all the nagging resentments, fears, and
worries that block you from starting an important project.
Acknowledging feelings can enable us to move past them and really
get started. This, of course, also means dedicating ample time and
space for the creative work. A friend of mine had trouble realizing
his gifts until he freed enough time to tinker in his garage. Now
he exhibits dozens of motor scooters, cars, and even a bread truck,
all artistically converted to brightly painted electric-powered
vehicles. I ask him how old he is and he says it’s tough to
keep track.
2. Try making your
own environment a work of art.
And while you’re at it, have some fun! We all start with a
blank slate in our living space. Whether you reorganize your
office, redecorate your home, enrich your relationships, or
beautify your yard, let these efforts mirror the best and most
beautiful in you. My wife and I purchased five very barren acres
some years back and have since spent every spare minute we have
planting flowering herbs, luscious berries, stately fruit trees,
and hardy landscaping bushes. In comparatively little time, the
parched landscape has given way to lush green views in all
directions. And inside, a neglected, ramshackle farmhouse now
boasts rich French country colors on all its walls. Don’t be
afraid to test your creativity in playful ways, even if you muff it
and have to start over. The playful energy all of us have not far
beneath the surface helps us feel young and free, regardless of our
body’s age.
3. Follow your
highest hopes and dreams.
Strangely enough, researchers who investigate longevity are
finding old age can be a peak period for more, not less,
creativity. "We always think of winding down in old age," says
Judith Salerno, Britain’s deputy director for the National
Institute on Aging. "We need to begin thinking about late life as
an opportunity for people to explore." So in the years that used to
be considered old age and dotage, now we see experience as an
incalculably rich resource. Don’t settle for a shut-down life
where the resources of youth are just vain memories; tap your rich
experience, whether through art, invention, social service, or
transformation of the environment. A higher number of age will only
mean you can realize your highest potential and develop talents you
never knew you possessed.
4. Dedicate time
each day to creative projects, and have faith in yourself.
Whether your gift is to be a writer, painter, actor, or a healer
of personal relationships, you need to devote time to it every day.
“But I can’t do it,” people say,
“it’s too big!” So just try breaking your larger
projects into smaller, more manageable pieces. As St. Francis says,
“Small beginnings, greater ends.” Don’t try to
write the whole novel or you will clam up and get scared. Maybe
today you will just write one paragraph or carve one lock of hair
onto your sculpture, but that will unlock your greater resources.
Over time, something will just lift you up. A power coming from
deep within you will fill in the blanks, making the
universe—and yourself—richer, more beautiful, and full
of the wealth of creative life that has no age.
Last update : Sunday, 06 May 2007
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