The Importance of Play and Creativity...
It's been quite a while since I have sat down and written a blog. Over the past few months, it's been "fast and furious" at Kind Intelligence, and my ability to just sit down, reflect, and focus on sharing my ideas has been tough... REALLY tough, and that brings me to the topic of this "ice-breaking" post...
The Importance of Play and Creativity
Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to engage a LOT of people. Some of them were and are directly connected to the projects and initiatives that we are working on at Kind, and some of them have been chance meetings that God has blessed me with in my day to day going to and fro.
The common theme among all of them, which is probably a direct response to my fanatical ranting about the work I do, or my conviction to spark a creative interest in others, is that in each person, when I ask about the creative work they are doing, they generally give me a blank stare and conclude with...
"I really don't have the TIME to do anything CREATIVE..."
To that end, we usually get into long drawn out conversations about creativity, it's importance and why the "creative muscle" needs to be exercised for overall health... And YES... I believe that... "The creative muscle needs to be exercised for overall health, AND well being..." Absolutely. And more importantly ...
Play.
From the time we are born (til now) we all have a yearning for this most important activity. YES it takes on different shapes over time, BUT play is a fundamental part of our fiber that never goes away. And what's interesting is this... In times where we let ourselves go, take a vacation (play), go to a park (play), chose to wrestle with the dog, our spouses, children, significant others (play) is when we are our MOST creative. It is at this time that we have let our guards down, not fearing the judgement of others, and truly move into a state of creativity and exploration.
This is what I have found... It's not "time" that keeps us from being truly creative... It's "fear". Fear that if we release an idea, we will be "shot-down", laughed at or even worst criticized by our peers. However; in contrast, when we are in a state of "play", inhibition sets in, and we are more willing to step out on a ledge, share an idea or even dream up something that the act of play inspires.
Serious Play is different, and as a creative person, or I like to think that I am a creative person, I find myself needing to climb into a mode of "serious play" from time to time for the purpose of solving a problem, designing a new system, brand or way of doing something. Serious play, in this instance, is the practice of taking out all of your building blocks, your clay, and crayons and throwing it all in the "sandbox" to explore many options and ideas to conclude on some resolve. Making mistakes is common place, looking absolutely silly is the norm, and challenging conventional thinking is an absolute necessity.
This is how I will conclude… Play.
Take time to do it. It feeds your soul, and ignites your spirit. Play is the seed to creativity, and serious play is the seed to solving serious problems, shaping radical new ideas, and doing the things that most call… Genius.


