Yesterday I swung on a swing set and colored a Spiderman fuzzy poster. Remember those as a kid? Those awesome fuzzy posters that come with four colored markers that don’t go at all with your picture. Well, for only $1 at the dollar store, a grown man can stay occupied and thrilled for about an hour. Yesterday was blissful; today it’s back to work.
Why was I doing such kid things yesterday that I haven’t done for a long time, you ask? Do you ever wonder why kids have such imaginations and grownups tend to get so boring and serious that they can’t even get creative sometimes? Well, I was reading in some studies, (and I would reference them, but that would require searching on the Internet…so just take my word on it), that creativity for adults or creative thoughts often happen in the shower. This is because when your mind is overworked for long periods then you take a break and don’t think about anything, your mind starts to connect past ideas with current ideas–thus creating some sort of creativity. Our problem as adults is that we go go go, and dont give time to allow the oxygen to travel to our brains.
After all, aren’t most creative ideas a mixture of past and present ideas blended together to create a fresh and vibrant new one? Well, the same goes for kids as it does for adults when they go and play outside in the fresh air. A simple thing such as swinging or coloring a fuzzy poster is enough mindless fun that your mind can start being useful in the creative area again. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to go play a round of hide and seek, or sing a little in the shower this morning instead of thinking of your grocery list and your to-do’s for the day. Who knows–maybe the next $1 you spend might give you a million-dollar idea!
