Stimulating Our Creativity
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
With much of the world staying at home now and engaged in solitary pursuits, an artistic renaissance is blooming as we explore the different ways to express ourselves.
People are passing the time developing their creative abilities. Writing, painting, making videos, playing musical instruments, perfecting culinary skills, gardening.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) recognized the value of solitude. He wrote his introspective American classic Walden in 1854 while living alone in a log cabin on Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts.
Thoreau moved into the remote cabin where he spent two years so he could be closer to nature and explore his own thoughts: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.”
Reflecting on the benefits of solitude and the healing powers of nature, he wrote, “The only medicine I need is a draught of morning air.”
Many others have channeled solitude into creativity, from poet Emily Dickinson to scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein – who literally changed the world with their theories of gravity and relativity.
– Albert Einstein
Dickinson (1830-1886), an avid gardener, spent much of her life alone tending her plants…and writing poems – close to 1,800 in all, making her one of America’s premiere poets.
Now, while spending time at home, people are nurturing creative talents they didn’t even know they had…and opening themselves to new discoveries each day.
Even everyone’s favorite dog Snoopy is unleashing his inner artist!
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