Every creative endeavour begins with a question. 

Have you heard people referring to “The Way of Creativity”?

You may have read it as a title of a book or a blog.

This is because creativity is a way of being and doing:

• a style in the expression of living,
• a method to use,
• a way of travelling, of moving in the world,
• a series of steps to take,
• a process.

There are two ways into creativity:

1. following a pre-determined idea, or
2. following our noses without a pre-determined idea.

For example, we might have a vision to create a salad and find a tomato in the garden. Or, we might find a tomato in the garden but not have a vision for it, and make something with it anyway. 

Either way, Creativity takes the state of something such as the tomato, from one condition where the tomato is whole, to another condition where it’s sitting on the kitchen looking pretty, chopped into a salad, or digesting in our tummy.

The creative way begins with a question… intentional and not…

just as every endeavour is a quest(ion) to change a condition.

What can I do with this tomato?

Can I create ___a salad___?

The word ‘create’ in our quest(ion)s is our key.

Creatives ask:

How do I create___my idea___?
When can I create___my idea___?
Where can I create___my idea___?
What do I need to create___my idea___?
Who do I need to create___my idea___?
Where do I get the resources to create___my idea___?
Should I create___my idea___?
Is ___my idea__ possible if I create___my idea___?,

such as a painting, a business, a new home, a healthier relationship, a collaborative team, a social movement, a book, a documentary, a program to teach, a food forest, justice and equality… everything!

So, we turn our attention to learning about that vision itself:

What is a good painting?
What house will pass by-laws?
What type of relationship is healthy?
What tools does my team need to communicate effectively?
What kind of book do I write?
What is a documentary really?

After all, we are more likely to succeed in the creation of an outcome if we learn about the vision of it.

But these questions alone leave us focused only on the outcome, the vision that is our ___idea___.

Then we to turn our attention to learning about the method itself:

How do I compose the painting?
How do I build the house?
How do I imagine what a healthy relationship looks like?
How do I form the team?
How do I write the book?
How do I illustrate the message of the documentary?

We might believe the answer to be “with hard work” or “with time” or “with help” or “I’ll hand the ‘how’ over to the universe because I’ve heard the ‘how isn’t up to me”.

But these questions leave us focused on the first word, such as ‘how, ‘what’, ‘when’.

Yet, we still we tend to overlook the biggest word in our question… the creative word:

How do I create…?

Look again at the questions written above. 

How do I compose the painting,
How do I build the house?
How do I imagine a healthy relationship looks like?
How do I form a team?
How do I write the book?
How do I illustrate the message of the documentary?

Any question we have with the word ‘create’ or any creativity concepts, has an answer in that word:

How do I create a painting?   Compose it… bring together elements of the story.

When can I create a painting?   In my Zen time before my kids wake up.

Where can I create a painting?   In my sacred shed with its windows open.

What do I need to create a painting?   Art materials I love to work with.

Who do I need to create my painting?   Just me and my inspiration.

Where do I get the materials to create my painting?   My local arts store (resources).

Should I create a painting?   My intuition is telling me to go for it!

Is ___ blank___ possible if I create ___ my idea___?   It’s possible it might help someone, if I show it to them.

Another way of showing how important ‘create’ is in our questions,

is to put creativity’s capabilities and practices into them.

‘Create’ is a verb that includes capabilities such as intuition, trust, groundedness, alignment, virtue, reproduction, expression, flow, synchronicity, focus, freedom, balance, design, possibility, resourcefulness, ideation, insight, harmony, project(ion), illustration, choice, synthesis, and vision,

and practices such as motivation, discipline and realisation.

When asking a ‘create’ question, we might ask:

What does my intuition say about…?
Do I trust in___my idea___?
Can I ground ___my idea___into my daytimes, my routine?
Do I align with___my idea___?
Does ___my idea___represent a virtue of mine?
Can I reproduce something to reform it into___my idea___?
What does ___my idea___need to express?
Can I envision___my idea___?
Am I motivated to___my idea___?

And lastly, the heart of creativity is love.

Add the word ‘love’ to ‘create’ and see what transpires!

What painting would I love to create?
What business would I love to create?
What home would I love to create?
What relationship would I love to create?
What new team would I love to create?
What social movement would I love to create?
What book would I love to create?
What documentary would I love to create?
What program would I love to create?

Ready for a creative quest?

Ask a question… it will see you on your creative way.