Creativity isn’t just for artists, writers, or musicians. Creativity is for all of us. Living creatively can transform our everyday lives into something richer, deeper, and more meaningful. This is the powerful invitation at the heart of creative living—an approach that sees life itself as a work of art, always in progress, ready to be sculpted as we wish. Living Life Creatively is the seventh chapter of the book Midlife, New Life: Living Consciously in Midlife and Beyond.
Imagination: The Starting Point
Imagination is where creativity begins. As astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan said, “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it, we go nowhere.” Imagination exists entirely in our minds—it’s the picture of something we may have never seen or experienced before. Creativity, on the other hand, is what happens when we take that imagination and bring something new into existence: an idea, a process, a product, or even a completely different way of living.
Soil, Seeds, and Sunlight
Like a beautiful garden, midlife offers the perfect medium of events and experiences to grow and flourish. We need soil, seeds, and sunlight for living life creatively. Think of your life experiences as the rich soil. The first half of life provides fertile ground, full of experiences, learnings, and memories. Throughout this journey, seeds get planted in our imagination—through travel, relationships, challenges, and triumphs. Now, with the sunlight and water of intentionality, those seeds are ready to germinate and flourish.
An Amplified Life
Living life creatively means actively engaging with life consciously, armed with imagination, curiosity, courage, and cheer as both an attitude and a way of life. Author Elizabeth Gilbert describes it perfectly: “A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life and a hell of a lot more interesting life.”
Practical Steps Toward Creative Living
We can all be creative. Developing a creative mindset starts with creating space for creativity—whether that’s time in nature, quiet contemplation, or simply allowing yourself to dream. Collect your ideas in journals, word documents, sticky notes, or idea jars. The key is capturing those fleeting thoughts before they disappear. Be courageous and step out of your comfort zone. Create with others in workshops, meetup groups, or faith-based communities. Embrace what life change artists call “creative dilemmas”—the awareness of a gap between today’s reality and a potentially better situation, along with the desire to do something about it.
You Can’t Use It Up
Maya Angelou reminds us: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” This means tomorrow you can be even more creative than you were today. Your creative journey doesn’t deplete you—it enriches you, stimulates your brain, allows you to uniquely express yourself, and brings profound meaning to your life. What creative dilemmas are you facing? What benefits await if you choose to live a more creative life? Your masterpiece is waiting to be created—and that masterpiece is you.
Watch this video to learn more about Living Life Creatively:
