How Important is Creativity in Life?

I think that of the many different talents that are present in the many people in the world, creativity is one of the most important in life. What is creativity? Creativity is more than just being able to put paper, paint, seeds and tinfoil together to make a pretty collage - though that, undoubtedly, is part of creativity. Creativity is the ability to look at old, familiar things from a new perspective; to dream up new ideas; to express oneself in various different ways.

Creativity is what enables a masterpiece of art to be produced. Great paintings, sculptures, novels, plays, musicals and symphonies are all born from a creative spirit. Such works of art are important in life because they are what culture is made of. Arts and culture are perhaps not quite as important in themselves but what they have done, and can do, for humankind is truly remarkable. Arts and culture provide people with something to do - something to read, watch, listen to and enjoy - during their leisure time, which increas-ing automation is bringing increased amounts of. If not for arts and indeed without creativity, what will people do in their spare time? Shop till they drop?

Art and creativity are also responsible for reducing the stress built up with hectic work schedules today. "Music soothes the savage beast." Just sit-ting back with your eyes closed, listening to a Debussy prelude, or for some others, Johnny Mathis or even Bryan Adams, is often instrumental in relieving some of the tension that has been threatening to rupture a vessel all day. Be-cause of this, or whatever art form the individual has chosen to indulge in, many are "saved" from "insanity"! Thank goodness for creativity!

Indulging one's own creative streak is also an ideal means of venting frustrations. Writing poetry, painting, dancing are all ways in which our creativity, be it a little or a lot, can help us to regain our equilibrium. Never mind if the drawing looks worse than your two-year-old nephew's! It simply is the creativity in you acting as a regulator, an anti-depressant or an anti-hypertensive agent, as the need calls for.

Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not all arts-related. The sciences, too, rely heavily on the magical phenomenon of creativity for problem solving. In fact, without creativity, no renowned scientist - Edison, Einstein or Curie-would ever have achieved what he or she did. It is creativity which allows you to look at a problem from a different angle and from there, perhaps, find the answer to it! It is in this way that many important scientific discoveries have been made, which have been substantially important to life as we know it. One such example is the discovery of electricity by Benjamin Franklin. It was his creativity, in addition to his enquiring mind, which prompted him to fly a kite in a thunderstorm. I believe his creativity and curiosity caused him to suffer an electric shock (thankfully not fatal) that led to the very first discovery of electricity.

Many new inventions have also surfaced due to the creativity of scien-tists, especially industrial ones. It must have taken a very creative man to think up plans for the first washing machine : the rinsing, and how to control the temperature and the length of the wash. No, it was not necessity which was the mother of this, and many other inventions. I tend to think that it was a little adversity to housework, laziness and a lot of creative energy.

In this aspect, creativity has been very important in improving the quality of life and the quantity of leisure time that we can enjoy. It has also been essential for the discovery of new things and phenomena about our world and the universe.

Creativity is also a very important social element. It is a definite boon to be a creative dresser, a creative conversationalist or dancer at a party. People tend to want to listen more to a man or woman who can talk about a wide spectrum of topics other than his or her job. Needless to say, a certain amount of wide reading is required, but it takes a spark of creativity to present such knowledge in an interesting, yet not. overbearing way.

Creativity can add a special dimension to taming life. Parents need to be creative with their children, so that they in turn will have their creativity nurtured. Telling interesting and amusing stories and anecdotes, coaxing children to eat their vegetables and mete out advice and punishments which will effectively help the children learn from their mistakes, all stem from creativity. It does take creativity for a marriage to work out, to make every day a couple has together meaningful and for relationships between spouses as well as parents and children to be special and cherishable.

Hence, creativity is, to me, extremely important to life, not just life as a whole population of human beings, but also to our personal lives and the lives of those around us.