fostering imagination
What is that mystical urge to bring into existence something that lives only in your mind? And how is it this invisible spark has alighted itself on all seven members of my family, in such obvious ways? Is it mere genetics? Does creativity emerge by virtue of stopping at Michael's, where they generously give me bottles of acrylic goodness in exchange for a reasonable donation?
I think creative desires lie in all of us, but they need to be encouraged and affirmed in order to clearly be seen. Creativity has become a bright thread woven into our family's fabric. It's not relegated to a single drawer that we open for an hour after lunch. No, being creative is a messy way of life that overflows the drawers, is strewn across bedroom floors, lines our walls and supports our bodies at night.
Creativity permeates our life, and I asked my kids how it affects them:
It's fun. - Eli, age 5
Being creative is with your brain. It's important to have fun.- Sydney, age 6
I draw, we cook, Sydney plays with Barbies and builds homes for them, we build stuff and paint and draw. It makes us feel good. - Baelin, age 7
It can help you with stuff. When I try to be creative, Alysa yells at me. Like, when I use sticks as weapons, she yells at me for no reason. - Aiden, age 10
Sydney is creative by being a drama queen. Creating is important because otherwise you would die. Everything would be very, very dull and boring. - Alysa, age 12
As an adult, I know that being creative is part of what it means to be made in the image of God. I know that living a creative life is more than painting or writing. But kids don't necessarily know that. Part of being a parent is pointing out all the ways in which we are creative. It's showing them how crying incessantly over such trivial things! could be training for acting, or how stick swords can end up as fodder for stories.
Parenting is opening our children's eyes to the fact that there is more to the world than they can see. There is something deeper that occurs as we begin building the habits of creating in our children. I want my kids to know that being creative isn't just something you do when you're bored. It can be a very intentional way of living that can have far-reaching effects.
But sometimes it looks like affirming creativity is simply prioritizing wasting time. Are there more important things they could be doing besides wandering outside playing with sticks and building forts? When a bedroom is messy but they are playing quietly with Barbies, should I make them stop?
I have to remind myself that so much of seeking creativity is letting them develop interests and maybe grow talent. But regardless of whether or not they 'do' anything with their creative bents, I hope they never doubt that creativity is important.
One of my goals as a parent is for them to know our creative urges have roots extending back to creation. They are all enamored with the outdoors, and as we catch insects, watch birds, and grow flowers, they are reminded that God's creativity is more than just coating the world in color. There is usefulness, there is design, architecture, science, math, and yes, art, involved. Creativity crosses educational subjects, and can be encouraged in any way of life.
As my kids grow, I want to teach them that their specific tendencies can be the basis for their life's work. It is part of my calling as a parent to teach them that the road design their dad does is as creative as the furniture he builds is as creative as the words I write as the paintings they make as the plays they create as the Legos they build with. As different as each person's mind is, so too, will our creative efforts be.
As my daughter said, when talking about why she builds tents in her bedroom, "If you share a room with a little sister, you have to have an imagination or you'll go crazy!" And, as George Bernard Shaw said, "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will."
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Caris Adel is passionate about loving people, defending the oppressed, and being a voice for justice. She’s been married for 11 years, and with 5 kids, somehow finds the time to write about affirming the humanity at www.carisadel.com.
