What Is Creativity?
Card from the Soul Trees oracle deck
What is creativity?
A seemingly simple question. A quick search of the definition tells us that creativity is “the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.” So maybe it appears to be a simple and innocent question with a black and white answer. Bada bing. Bada boom. But…maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe there’s more to it than meets the monochromatic eye. Something about this question has always both enchanted and perplexed me. If I try answering it using only the dictionary description, I’m left feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Truthfully, I think the subject begs for more careful attention. More consideration. More exploration. A wider lens. A deeper dive.
As a singer/songwriter I’ve been asked hundreds of times, both in radio/press interviews as well as in more casual conversations, questions like, “How do you write a song? Where does your inspiration come from? What’s your creative process?” Again, these questions seem pretty simple and straightforward. Standard interview protocol for an artist, right? I say no. They’re imposters! Posing as common curiosities, but underneath these are actually gigantic complex and cosmic inquiries that I wonder if we even have the capability to answer rightfully at all.
When attempting to answer these types of questions over the course of many years, I’ve recognized two things. The first thing is, I started to notice how uncomfortable I felt when struggling to find the words for my answers. Radio host: “How do you write a song?” Me: “Ummm…I just…well I um…I pick up my guitar and…it just comes out?” That’s obviously not exactly what I’ve said, but that’s what it’s felt like I’m saying. Trying to describe my creative process in 3D terms (i.e. the reality that is tangibly in front of you and me) feels like I’m trying to squeeze an elephant into a little box. Or skate around the real truth. But what was the real truth anyway?
I didn’t just notice the pattern of uneasiness while describing creativity using everyday jargon my own self. I heard it when listening to other artists talk about it as well. I used to transcribe interviews for Guitar Player, Bass Player, and Keyboard (and other music magazines) for many years. One of the best parts about that job was hearing all of the musicians’ interviews raw and unedited. I got all the fun ‘off the record’ stories that were just between the artist and the writer. (My lips are sealed, so don’t ask!) But time after time after time after time, when an artist was asked about their creative process, their answer either seemed strained—they stumbled around to grasp for the right words—or their response fell flat—they described inspiration from a strictly 3D perspective—always leaving my appetite unfulfilled; still hungry for more.
The second pattern I’ve noticed when attempting to explain creativity is the inevitable voyage into the subject of spirituality. If I’m answering a question about where creative inspiration comes from in absolute authenticity, ten times out of ten the discussion will take a turn into the divine and metaphysical territory. And with this turn, although still challenging to put into words, the unease of trying to fit the elephant into a small box melts away. I intuitively feel like I’m telling the truth. The real truth. And when listening to others talk amidst this same ethereal territory, something inside of me resonates with them deeply and my appetite is appeased. The articulation might not fully be there, but the integrity is. And that feels like gold.
I’m sure other artists can relate to the 3AM wake-up call from the muse, or the missing lyrics that manifest all too clearly at the most inconvenient of times. I know what it feels like to wake up in the middle of the night with a melody in my head and not being able to turn over and go back to sleep because it’s hellbent on becoming a song (“Wake up and write me, woman!”). Or running out of the shower with shampoo still in my hair to record lyrics in my Voice Memos app because if I don’t I’ll lose them forever, and no other mission in life has ever felt so crucial to protect and complete. Where is inspiration truly conceived from when a seemingly spontaneous idea sparks and blossoms from within? How much of it is destined and how much of it is formed of our own free will? We might think we’re consciously creating something, but what about those bewitching moments when a song seems to just write itself? How in control are we really?
Creativity isn’t a subject that can be answered within the same capacity as a question like, “What kind of music inspired you as a kid?” A question like, “Where does your creativity come from?” deserves more reverence than those types of questions, simply because of the profoundness and sovereignty that its corresponding authentic answer holds. Then, the question “how do you write a song?” becomes more than just a passing curiosity into the mind of an artist. It becomes a window to their eternal spirit. A glance into their relationship with the Universe. A look at who they are underneath physical form as we see them in the 3D. An opportunity to uncover and understand something much bigger than just a little song. And since we are made up of the Universe, we are also unwrapping a deeper look into ourselves and therefore into each other. A bizarre and enlightening vortex if we pause to acknowledge such a special phenomenon.
In a more traditional sense, prayer and meditation are probably the first terms that come to mind when the concept of communicating with God (or a higher source) is posed. But maybe creativity should really be the first thing on that list, being that it’s something so incredibly organic, and one could even say unsought. The muse calls, the artist answers. God plants a seed, the artist waters the tree. Co-creation instigated by a spiritual and physical union. Heaven and Earth. There’s a famous quote that goes: “Prayer is when you talk to God. Meditation is when you listen to God.” Maybe creativity is the conversation in wholeness. The give and take summed up in one extraordinary formula. Bada bing. Bada boom.
I’m not writing about anything new, of course. The mysteries of creativity in a spiritual scope have been talked about for ages. But because it interests me so much (plus I’m obsessed with the cosmos!), and coming from the perspective of an artist who’s been in this business for many years, it bewilders me why we aren’t talking about this stuff (and receiving it) more regularly and openly, especially in the entertainment industry that’s made up of a world of artists. This industry is so rigid, it kills me. It’s the industry of the arts, mind you. Ahem. The arts. But oh music business…you little music business, you. Everything must go in a box. Why? What if we opened up all those boxes and just got real? Unleash the elephants!
It’s funny. In a lot of interviews when I started maneuvering away from my uncomfortable squeezing-the-elephant-in-a-box answers to talking more about God’s involvement in my songwriting, the press started labeling me more and more as a Christian artist. I don’t mind it, by the way. I’ve been pretty open about my Christian roots. And this mostly transpired from me writing some more distinctly religious-based songs for my original Christmas album (Home Sweet Christmas). But besides that, overall when I handed spiritually-tinged answers that came from my heart to interviewers, most seemed to take those answers and proceed to squeeze them into their own boxes. It’s almost like my more Christian-based Christmas songs allowed them to exhale in peace, knowing they could label the genre (FINALLY we found a box to put Katie in, phew!). But when it came to me talking about songwriting in general and God’s role in it, a tug of war seemed to remain. I got the feeling that most people I talked to were thinking, what does divine intervention have to do with writing a song about a broken heart? Meanwhile, I’d be feeling like it had everything to do with it.
I don’t think the marvel of creativity should be saved only for songwriters who are considered New Age, or Christian, or any religious background for that matter. I’d love to see the mystical aspect of creating more widely talked about in the general music/entertainment industry across all styles and roles. Creativity isn’t a genre after all. It’s a gift. An opportunity. A birthright. A celebration. A ritual. A responsibility. A miracle. It’s our life source. It’s our energetic cord to something sacred and pure that without it, art wouldn’t exist. And if art didn’t exist then…okay, now I’m going down the rabbit hole. Weeee!
To climb back out for now, I do believe creativity is our conversation with God. But it goes beyond that. Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” So maybe it’s not only our conversation with God, but it’s our playtime with the Universe too (I’m using “God” and “Universe” interchangeably). It’s our talk with God, but also our walk with God. Our dance with God. It’s our inner child dancing around with our higher self. It’s unity in so many ways. Endless and boundless unity. When shared, it’s a heart-to-heart connection that offers compassion and understanding more than anything else could. It’s the Universe’s answers to our questions. It’s a foolish and glorious dive into the great unknown, proving our own courage and faith to ourselves. Building trust within our own hearts. It’s an invigorating deep clean of our emotional experiences and wounds, lifting them up to the surface, presenting us with a mirror—an opportunity to face and transmute them. It’s a cardinal aspect to our growth and elevation of consciousness. It’s magical medicine. It’s the most powerful healing modality. The totality of love. Because it’s not just transcribing what the Universe is saying to us, much like I transcribed magazine interviews from audio to text. It’s receiving those messages, as well as giving our own skills and imagination to the matter too. The vessel and the maker. It’s intelligence. It’s fun. It’s love. It’s everything.
So maybe the next time I’m asked, “How do you write a song,” I’ll first answer with three questions of my own: “How much time do you have?” “How open is your heart?” and “How far down the rabbit hole are you willing to go?” I’m kidding. (OR AM I??). Okay but in all seriousness, I hope this resonates with others because I know I’m not alone in these thoughts. I’d love to hear about your own definitions of creativity if you’re open to sharing. It’s my favorite question to mull over, and I love mulling over stuff like this. So, mull away with me if you’d like: What is creativity?
