The Lifelong Pursuit of Creativity and How to Cultivate It

I have always struggled with conveying my ideas, sure they existed but only in my mind. I could think of a thousand good ideas, but would never have the courage to outwardly express them. In a way, I was hindering my creativity under the guise of perfectionism and lack of "expertise". I felt as though I couldn't talk about something if I had no "real knowledge" to back it up.

Oddly enough, we all carry real knowledge with us, our lives and experiences are real knowledge. I believe creativity is how we develop solutions and connect with others in different mediums. We draw on from other sources and convey information in the way that we perceive it,and this is how we can provide a new way of seeing things. Everyone is a creative, a baker, a software engineer, a florist, a constuction worker. While some of our jobs can decrease our levels of creative output, when the pandemic started in 2020 and we could not go into work, most people turned to creative hobbies such as baking, cooking, designing, painting, sewing, ceramics, woodwork and much more. It felt natural to us, and we were engaged. We were so uncertain about everything around us, but we were certain that we could create something out of nothing. Most of us can recall our earliest childhood memories where we were asked to draw things or come up with a game or build something. Children often do not rely on rationality when it comes to thinking creatively, they don't care for a blue sky or gravity or coloring within the lines. We created and envisioned things on their own terms, and as we grow older our innate curiosity and imagination wither away under the suffocating weight of obligation & responsbility.

Creativity is a lifelong pursuit, and the progression towards it is never linear, but in fact cyclical. If you take a look at God's creation, everything is created in stages and life cycles. Creativity is a way for us to connect with the Divine and ourselves. God is Al-Bari’ (the Originator, the Inventor) – The One Who originates and materializes creation without a prior model. Use his creations as inspiration for your own creative pursuits. Creativity is a way back to God.

We can often find that one creative pursuit can lead to another and entirely transform what we originally had in mind. Creativity holds no shape and cannot be defined to a certain criteria. We have more than enough material around us to be curious and ponder the meanings around us. Find things that you are drawn to, and explore these concepts more. Draw from what you already know and use your new knowledge to pursue your own vision.