Comet Nwosu: Learning to Find Our Creative Selves

Randomness and unseriousness sometimes give rise to creativity and creation you like. One of the killers of dreams is the inability to express one’s self to the core. I’m partially guilty of this as I’ve started restricting my child from some type of play and stuff. This is the root of many dream killers in so many of us. Our upbringing entailed a lot of rules and regulations and the need to please society, thus suffocating our inner child and being.

It is with this inner child and form of expression we comprise random acts which ultimately give rise to creativity and creation. Although I beg to differ that being creative usually amounts to creation, it’s still a step forward in the right direction. Hopefully, we’re able to cover the root causes of decreased creation despite the creative spirit in this article. Otherwise, it will be a carryover.

Being creative comes from the genuine ability to be oneself and do things that come to their mind willfully. Once they’re tampered with, it becomes engineered regardless of the intention and, hence, become not so creative anymore. That’s the reason why it is advisable to let kids be kids, and adults the way they are.

When I was growing up, I remember writing a lot of songs for my classmates who were couples in high school, writing short stories, imagining a family in my head excitedly, and so many other random activities like that. I presumed I was either doing them to be liked by the said couples or to just sound bright. I truly loved the sound of words and how beautifully articulated and written they are each time I encountered a masterpiece  — in movies, with strangers, with family, or in school. I adored words.

But then that dream got crippled by people’s opinion about either what I’m doing or how I was doing it. I got criticised for imagining things even though they were mere imaginations. I received lectures for not having any direction in life when I failed to enter university at the time my mates were.

Due to the pressure, I threw everything I thought I knew or had as a skill to the gutters. I started fighting hard for what others wanted me to do or become; get into university, study a big course, make good grades, get a good job, and settle down. That became a proposed and imposed adventure. One that I regret.

Whilst going on this adventure though, I never stopped displaying those random, archaic (if you like), annoying, little word-ly traits. I continued to romanticise words, adored and mastered poetry, and carefully and beautifully scripted movies.

Looking back, I see how the younger folks are fighting for their rights to be themselves and their chance to express it to the fullest. All those random traits and activities are what fetches millions of people recognition, fame, and wealth. All those unspoken words, forbidden jokes, unseen prose, and poetry are endearing to larger groups of people’s hearts, although it breaks some, those who had to stifle their minds and body from expressing their true calling.

But you can never escape the passion in you. A good old adage says ‘destiny can be delayed but never denied.’ It might have taken time to get there, but acknowledgement with bitter lessons learned is made still better than ignorance and non-fulfilment until the end. That is the part that bites harder.

The younger folks or generation might be doing way better than you now, but you still have the unique ability to do what you’ve always wanted to do and become, and have your audiences as well. The sky is huge enough to contain all.

What are some of these random acts that procreate one’s dreams or potential?

• Singing on a whim
• Making jokes, stupid sounds, and other abstract things spontaneously and consistently
• Drawing anything spontaneously and consistently
• Writing anything spontaneously and consistently
• Picking up cues with regard to certain things spontaneously and consistently

If something doesn’t come to you naturally or consistently, it might just be a one-off thing.

These are minor crafts that end up becoming big gigs, dreams that come true, goals (pun intended), and so on. Yet, we took them as mere hobbies or voices to be shut down.

While you can acknowledge the delays in accomplishment, it is imperative not to exclude the essentiality of consistency and natural flex (hence the unknowing bit) that comes with such creativity. They are mutually inclusive. If something isn’t coming to you naturally or consistently, it might just be a one-off thing. So, learn and take notes.

Other ways to tap into your creativity: spend some time alone, be mindful of everything, and pay attention to your habitual traits — things that bring you joy or alleviate your mood, activities that put you in a flow state. Double down on them.

What are some of the traits that depress these expressions or prowess?

• Caring too much about other’s opinions of you
• Not listening or following your instincts
• Forcing yourself to obey your parents’ wishes and putting them over yours
• Trying to belong
• Letting the criticisms about what and how you express yourself get to you
• Growing cold feet when the going gets tough
• Forcing yourself to give it all up.

You cannot give up what is in you, you can only suppress it until a certain time.

One thing with creativity is that it cannot be taught. It is inborn. People are going to say you’re too emotional, maybe that’s what drives your heart to read and write. People are going to say you’re weird, well, findings in science and art have never been normal. No matter how messy it might look to someone else, it is pure art to another person. Creativity and creation mean giving yourself permission to indulge the nudge in you and express it fully. If it happens to be something that requires class or training to file up to a much bigger purpose, then so be it. Otherwise, you cannot give up what is in you. You can only suppress it until a certain time.

If you don’t let it out, you may not know how good or bad it is. If it’s bad, you may not know how to tame it on time.

So why not use what your mama gave you? Write how you like because it might be the very thing that stands you out while you accord respect and kindness to others. At the end of the day, the essence of the creative seed implanted in us is to let it sprout and feed others, not to be used as a weapon against them. Draw as it comes to mind, sing, and continue with intuiting others’ thoughts and feelings. Who knows if that would amount to palm or tarot spiritual readings. Be unserious, laugh anyhow, make jokes how they comes. If you don’t let things out, you may not know how good or bad you are. If it’s bad, you may not know how to tame it on time.

Keep being yourself – the playful, geeky, nonchalant, childlike-minded person you were meant to be. That is exactly the masterpiece needed to create and flourish so much in a world/life that needs all the convenience and comfort.

As we create, so shall we be.

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Featured Image: George Milton for Pexels