CREATIVE RESPONSE-SWAMI BRAHMAVIDANANDA

For responsibility to truly be freedom for us there is a need for us to have proactive, creative response. What is a creative response? Generally, we associate creativity with art, music, dance, literature etc. When I take a session on creatively, I often say this- I don’t have any art in me. I can’t sing. I can’t dance, I can’t paint. I can’t draw. If I draw a circle, it looks like a potato. But I have created the life I want! So what is the creativity I am talking about?
To look at what is there and think of what it can be. There is a huge difference between the two. We know what a pencil looks like. Then we think of 10 different uses of the pencil other than writing. Our creative imagination opens up. It can be used as a ruler to draw a straight line. If I know the length of the pencil I can use it to measure multiples of that length. I can use it as a bookmark or a paperweight. In the hands of a martial artist which is the only art I have, it can be a deadly weapon. What is there is a pencil. There is no other thing. But you are looking at it creatively, imaginatively, in a realistic way and seeing what can be done with it.
This is exactly what a creative response is about. We use our imagination to see what the possible solutions are. How can I see the reality that is there and respond to it creatively by looking at it with my creative imagination? This helps us find solutions to so-called insurmountable problems. If we don’t exercise this ability in us we will find that we have option blindness. We don’t know all the options that can be created. There are many forms of creativity and hundreds of exercises available but it starts with what is there and what can be! It is all about looking at possibilities with my imagination helping me to respond to a situation not only proactively but also creatively.
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