On Creativity

What comes to your mind when you see or hear the word “creativity”? Do you think of artists – painters, writers, poets, designers, singers or people with a talent (which you think you don’t have) to create things and ideas?  Based on this definition you may not recognize your own innate creativity.

Creativity can be seen as being able to think out of the box, to create something new, to transcend the ordinary. It doesn’t only mean create something from nothing.

I also saw this definition of creativity while searching on Google and loved it – “creativity enables alternative ways of thinking. It unblocks old patterns or habits of thinking. It allows for non-linear thinking.”

When I was growing up, the label put on me was that I was the “smart one” and my sister was the “creative one”.  So, I grew up thinking that I didn’t have a creative bone in my body, but when I look back on my life, I see so clearly how the 2 definitions of creativity worked out in my life.

It was so eye-opening for me to see that I worked “creatively” in all my jobs.  I’ve had so many different jobs over the course of my life, including owning my own boutique selling clothes I designed for children and Moms when I lived in Toronto.  When I moved to Hong Kong, I had a stint as an interior decorator which I enjoyed tremendously. The reality is that I spent a few decades of my life in creative pursuits which I did not recognize or acknowledge because in my mind “I wasn’t the creative one”.  There was a lot of doubt and insecurity behind all my “creations”. And of course, I am so incredibly proud, grateful and honored to have “created” two amazing children.

Then I stumbled upon kundalini yoga at a point where my old life had totally collapsed. I felt cast adrift on a stormy ocean.

When I began my immersion into kundalini yoga, the second definition of creativity was activated - the teachings gave me the ability to unblock old patterns or habits of thinking that were not helpful, keeping me small, keeping me in my comfort zone, afraid to take chances or make changes. By the time I became a kundalini yoga teacher I was already in my 60’s and at a major crossroads in my life. Little did I know that for the next decade of my life I would be embarking on a radical redefinition of who I am, what I am capable of and birthing a whole new way of being.  The practice has given me the opportunity to “create” courses and to ignite my passion and my curiosity. I met so many wonderful, beautiful souls. My life expanded in ways I couldn’t even have dreamed possible. 

Osho said: ”creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.  If you want to create, you have to get rid of all conditionings; otherwise, your creativity will be nothing but copying, you will be just another carbon copy.  You can be creative only if you are an individual, you cannot create as a part of the mob psychology…The creator cannot follow the well-trodden path.  She has to search out her own way, she has to inquire in the jungles of life…”

This quote from Osho inspired me to forge my own path, to find a way to live a life I love to live – a life of Joy, Purpose, and Love.  The tools I learned from kundalini yoga, my continuing education as a teacher and practitioner, and my transformation from pointlessly drifting through my life to living with purpose has been nothing short of miraculous.   If you would like to create your own path to live a life you love to live, don’t be afraid. You are never too old.  It is never too late.  And best of all you do not have to do it all, all alone. Take a deep breath. Put one foot in front of the other.

“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step”.

Lao Tzu