One of my favorite books in recent times has been Untamed by Glennon Doyle, for many reasons but especially this one: I believe in the deepest part of my soul that we were not born to be so tame.
We were not born to conform, to toe the line. To put on muted clothes and go to muted jobs, while keeping ourselves and our dreams muted too. We were not born to live half lives, or to work more than we live. We were not born to be mindlessly productive.
We were born to create. And to live as fully as we can.
It’s inspiring to notice that, given the time and given basic needs are taken care of, humans so often turn to creating. Creating art, creating unique spaces and experiences, creating recipes. Creating new businesses, and solving problems in new ways. Creating beautiful relationships and communities.
Creating innovations that this era and this planet need.
In a recent study in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers pinpointed a network of genes that is key to what differentiates us from neanderthals and chimpanzees. Apparently, as far as emotional reactivity we are pretty similar genetically to our evolutionary ancestors, and we also share similarities when it comes to self-control and self awareness.
The genes that the researchers found unique to modern humans - separating us from the chimps and neanderthals - are to do with “creativity, prosocial behavior, and healthy longevity.”
We have literally evolved as a species to become more creative. Think of all the creativity we see and experience in our daily lives. From music and books to highways and electric cars to medicine and appliances. Things that make our days easier, things that inspire us and remind us we are human and our time here is short.
With evolving capabilities necessary for survival, come trade-offs. What are the trade-offs of a more evolved, creative brain? It makes sense to me that with an expanded mind, comes a bit of chaos. On a daily, if not minute-by-minute, basis we have to filter through the many levels of our minds to function and navigate whatever work, family, and the world are throwing at us. It’s easy to bury, and for our creative selves to get lost in the maze.
Creative innovations and artistic endeavors are so embedded in our life today it’s also easy to take them for granted. Lately I’ve been making the effort to appreciate the miracle of creative expression when and where I can. Live music. Words on a page. Murals on a wall.
Our creativity has in part gotten us this far. Think about the medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative technology we’ve experienced in the past decade alone. Think about books, art, and music that expand our minds and make us question and imagine.
Where will our creative minds take us from here?
“'I’m not very creative' doesn’t work. There’s no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity isn't benign. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.
The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.
If we want to make meaning, we need to make art ... As long as we’re creating, we’re cultivating meaning."
― Brené Brown
“The universe is only as large as our perception of it. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe. This expands the scope, not just of the material at our disposal to create from, but of the life we get to live.”
―Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being
“Let’s conjure up, from the depths of our souls:
The truest, most beautiful lives we can imagine.
The truest, most beautiful families we can fathom.
The truest, most beautiful world we can hope for.
Let’s put it all on paper.Let’s look at what we’ve written and decide that these are not pipe dreams; these are our marching orders. These are the blueprints for our lives, our families, and the world.
May the invisible order become visible.
May our dreams become our plans.”―Glennon Doyle, Untamed
👍🏻😎