John Cleese, actor, comedian, and author of the book, Creativity, A short and cheerful guide, dispels the myth creativity is something you have to be born with. The book teaches people how to create circumstances where you will become creative.
There’s a myth that creativity is something you have to be born with. This isn’t the case. Anyone can be creative.
— John Cleese, Creativity, A short and cheerful guide
When I opened the book this morning to read it, I found the receipt. I bought a signed first-edition copy of his book on 9/22/2020, at 1:38:28 PM at Towne Book Center & Cafe, in Collegeville. The book was $14.00, with tax I paid $14.84. Returns accepted with 30 days. A statement on the bottom of the receipt stated: Management Reserves Right to Refuse Returns on Select Purchases.
I didn’t return the book. I read it.
I bought the book on what would have been my thirtieth wedding anniversary. I didn’t celebrate the day with my husband; I spent the day alone. We were no longer living in the same house; he had an affair and had filed for divorce. I spent the day remembering and giving myself grace. Reminding myself that I have value and his behavior showed his character and not my worth.
The book encouraged me. It reminded me that I can be creative even when I feel like limp romaine lettuce, which was how I felt the day I bought the book.
Today is April 8th, 2024. 3 years, 7 months, and 16 days after I bought John Cleese’s book, I am reading the book again. Today, I have been divorced for three years, free from The Bonds of Matrimony, as of 11:47 AM, on the signed Divorce Decree from the court.
I remind myself that I have value. I am loved. I am creative because I chose to create, to give myself opportunities to write and draw.
Cleese, in Creativity, A short and cheerful guide, talks about the power of the unconscious to solve creative problems. If he was working on a sketch at night, and couldn’t find a way to solve the problem, he would eventually give up and go to bed. He discovered that, “If I put the work in before going to bed, I often had a little creative idea overnight.” He realized that his unconscious mind was working without him being consciously aware of it.
I trust my unconscious mind to help me when I am not sure how to proceed. To sit at my desk, and do the work.
Last night when I went to sleep, I knew I was going to write about John Cleese’s book today, but I wasn’t sure what aspect of it I wanted to talk about. I read the book again this morning. I can be creative if I give myself opportunities to create.
This once limp piece of romaine lettuce feels like a person again.
I want to be at my desk working, giving my unconscious self, time to breathe. To listen to my intuition.
My unconscious mind is my muse. Myself.
Have you ever experienced your unconscious helping you solve a creative problem?
xo
Pamela
