{"id":18217,"date":"2022-08-16T16:39:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T23:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3rdactmagazine.com\/?p=18217"},"modified":"2022-12-03T08:11:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T16:11:31","slug":"everyone-is-born-creative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3rdactmagazine.com\/everyone-is-born-creative\/lifestyle\/living-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Express More of You Creatively? Yes, You Can!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone is born creative. Over time, many of us are ambushed by a set of critical gremlins who want us to believe that we don\u2019t have the talent or capacity to do what we love. Self-judgment, comparison, and competition form a wicked trio that squashes our innate joy in expressing ourselves creatively.<\/p>\n

The good news is that with age, we can change that. Our third act comes with a permission slip to abandon the old messages that were never true. Were you told you couldn\u2019t sing? Time to open your mouth. Or couldn\u2019t make art? Bring out the pencils and fingerpaints. Or not to tinker in the garage? Tinker away. Today is your best time ever to create if you\u2019re willing to try.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m living proof. For years, I belonged to a million-member chorus of people who believed they couldn\u2019t sing, at least not in public. When we were children, someone probably said, \u201cYou can\u2019t carry a tune,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re off-pitch,\u201d or \u201cYou call that singing?\u201d Humiliated, we believed what we heard. We retreated, closed down, and started apologizing for our voices.<\/p>\n

Nobody was there to remind us that anyone can sing if they can talk. All babies are born cooing and crooning. No child says, \u201cI can\u2019t sing,\u201d until something discouraging happens.<\/p>\n

For me, that moment occurred in third grade. I was standing in our class chorus, front row right, as the teacher, Mrs. Johnson, conducted. As I sang my heart out, too enthusiastically for her taste, she stopped the class and said, with an over-sweetened smile, \u201cDear, I think you\u2019d be better suited as a soloist.\u201d What a great compliment, I thought, until the real meaning hit: \u201cYour voice sticks out and not in a good way.\u201d After that, I only sang when hidden in church or among Christmas carolers.<\/p>\n

I returned to singing 50-plus years later when, during the pandemic, I decided to take an online course with Chlo\u00eb\u00a0Goodchild from England. Goodchild\u00a0believes everyone can sing once they find their natural \u201cnaked\u201d voice. I learned to stop judging every note and instead learned to witness my voice. I enjoyed the power of silence. As I practiced in triads with classmates, I didn\u2019t worry whether my voice would warble, break, or miss a pitch. My voice blossomed. Soon, I even dared be the one who started the \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d chorus\u2014small for some but big for me. Now you can\u2019t stop me from singing.<\/p>\n

Many children have had similar, discouraging experiences in art class. In grade school, \u201cartistic students\u201d are often singled out while others, like me, go into the \u201cno talent\u201d pile. Why try when we\u2019re sure we\u2019ll never make \u201creal art?\u201d According to Dana Lynne Andersen, director of the Academy for Art, Creativity and Consciousness at Awakening Arts, this often happens to children by age 10. The good news is that once her students open the door to creating again, they always find an inner seed ready to sprout.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m the poster child for someone who believed she couldn\u2019t paint. Then, at age 69, I was introduced to an older woman who taught watercolors at the local senior center. \u201cTry my class, you\u2019ll love it,\u201d she said. I responded with my standard-issue remark, \u201cSorry, I don\u2019t do art.\u201d She refused to accept that, and soon I tried her class and found myself enchanted by the world of color. I learned:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Talent doesn\u2019t matter (at my age, who cares?) but trying does.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    \u201cDo I like it?\u201d works better than, \u201cAm I good?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    The best question of all: \u201cIs this fun?\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you have even the smallest hankering to do something creative\u2014art, music, or a form unique to you\u2014you can if you allow yourself to try. I can\u2019t promise that if you sing you\u2019ll make it to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. But at age 70, that\u2019s not where I\u2019m headed. Rather than worrying about how to jump through the hoops of other people\u2019s standards, I\u2019m learning what pleases me and brings me joy.<\/h3>\n

    Here are some ideas to help you express more of the creative you:<\/strong><\/h3>\n