I realise that with age, the most difficult thing is to remain active and creative. It is easy to give in and become only a consumer of things – good, clothes, toys, entertainment, TV, politics… Passivity is the plague of our times.
My ways of keeping creative are varied:
- cooking – important not only for a good diet, but also a source of pleasure, the opportunity to experiment in creating something that will give almost immediate satisfaction, an opportunity for fun family time when cooking together. The upgrade of this is baking, making one’s own bread (with one’s own leaven), making pates, marmalades and pickles…
- drawing – actually I don’t draw very well, so my version of this is doodling which requires a lot of patience but much less formal technique. Some elaborate doodles can be very imperessive and The repetitive patterns are apparently also recommended for inducing a sort of meditative state. As for me, I doodle often, when I have a bit of time and for example use the technique to illustrate my personnalised Christmas cards.
- writing – this blog, but not only… I used to write poetry and posted regularly on a literary site. I also wrote some lyrics for a friend who composes music, for her album of author jazz. This is creativity multiplied.
- sewing and other handicraft – I wish I could do more, but I will probably need some guidance as my skills are only very very basic… when my daughter is older, maybe we can get classes together?
- play – looking after a toddler, I relise that everyday objects can be turned into toys, with a little imagination. I try to keep up and create some toys for her – cutting holes in a cardboard box, making rattles out of pieces of pasta in a plastic bottle, making a picture book with family photos out of a plastic folder…
And what are your ways if keeping creative ?
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