Why Creativity Is Ageless And Worth A Try

Our member Sarala Upadhya writes on the joys of being creative and why creativity is ageless.

Recently, I was taking part in organising the Annual Day of our friends’ group. One of my friends was enthusiastically explaining about an event in which we had to think of the many ways of using a stick, long or short, plain or decorated. Suggestions for small mono-acts, demos, and skits were shared. Amid equally enthusiastic responses from the group, we managed to cull a dozen and more small acts around the given subject. It was truly a case of creative outburst. Within a span of 15 minutes, the whole event was finalised with the sequence and distribution of acts in place. It would have amazed any professional Design and Development team looking on.

Creativity is not necessarily learning and doing something new. The creative person draws information and skills from her experience everywhere.

One of my favorites is this lady on the popular video circuit, who can make eight types of breakfasts with the same basic batter. She added some small but significant variations in the basic recipe to get the variety in cooking. She has lakhs of followers on social media and probably earned quite well from creative culinary skills!

I wonder if we can all try and get creative that way. Sometimes we may think we are too old to do anything new. Because aging is generally associated with physical slowing down, loss of memory, and slow thinking.

You may be surprised to know that creativity can grow exponentially with aging if there is the right approach. Age can gather knowledge and experience. More importantly, a sense of intuition and wisdom also become acute. Aged people are better judges of what works and what does not.

This may compensate for all the other age-related drawbacks. In addition, there is a certain boldness to take a chance, be creative and try out new things. If it works, well and good! If it does not, there is always a satisfaction of having tried. Being creative can be very beneficial for an aging person in more ways than one. It brings a certain positivity in life, being able to look forward to doing something new, something better, and even excelling in doing it. If the creative urge can bring out a new product useful for the community, there is a sense of fulfilment. You may have heard of Latika Chakraborty who turned into an entrepreneur by utilizing scraps of material to make beautiful bags.

Engaging in a creative activity is a true stressbuster because it is something that you really love to do.

My mother sat down in the afternoons and got busy making long necklaces embellished with beautiful flowers, all in cotton wool. They were used for puja on special occasions. That was her time for this silent engaging activity to unwind after a busy morning, taking care of a large family. That aside, she was ready to make snacks for us returning from school. She would be very happy if we appreciated her lovely creations and vied with each other to use them in puja. It seemed to energize her to do more of the creative work.

Being creative is like giving nutritious food to the mind. Give yourself a generous helping without worrying about your sugars or pressures. Your heart will love the treat when someone says “Wow! You are so creative! Can you teach me how to do this?”