Mine the Ordinary

 

"The beginner sees many possibilities, the expert few. Be a beginner every day." ~ Zen Proverb 

Discover a miracle each day that inspires you to view the ordinary with a different perspective.

Strip objects and experiences of their habitual expectations. Allow them to attract the enchantment you felt before familiarity set in.

Observe the way a raven stands on its claws and how rainbows sparkle in feathers.

Stay ready and eager for an outbreak of curiosity with a burst of surprises and fun.

Tune your eyes and ears.

Let fingers and toes explore.

Around every corner adventures will enliven the day.

Be aware. Care and share.

Launch Creativity

 

John Lennon said he wrote the song, "Because" by playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" backwards.

Kevin Popovic, founder of ZIP Idea Lab, part of the Zahn Innovation Platform at San Diego State University says, “From the individual standpoint, there’s a sense of empowerment that comes from creativity. It’s a self-fulfilling positive feedback loop because the more practice we get being creative, the more confidence we have.” San Diego State University requires students to develop a “problem statement” - How might we?

Team exercises at the Foster school of Business involve role-playing where leaders ask the team to find 10 new uses for a product.  “No idea is a bad idea” is the mantra.

Questions to ignite team creativity ask friends to discover ways to attach/combine other objects to an item to give it a new use. How does the shape of the item resemble other common shapes? The exercise encourages team members to free their minds so they might run into an amazement.

The University of Nevada Innevation Center, intentionally spells innevation to take the “no” out of innovation.

The interdisciplinary approach at the University of Oregon melds different backgrounds. At the College of Design, students learn about materials, the manufacturing process, design influences, and entrepreneurship. They discover how creativity is enhanced by acquiring interdisciplinary knowledge, making connections that are not obvious, and by applying these strategies to navigate around constraints. 

Professor Kiersten Muenchinger in product design says, “If the round hole is bigger, the square peg might fit. We want to develop people who are inspired by constraints.”

Consider a creative strategy for today.

What could you do in reverse to develop a novelty or new product?

Invert an approach to study new ways of doing things.

Is there an idea to turn upside-down or inside-out to awaken a new perspective?

Ask how nature might solve it?

Approach the day in myriad ways.

Playfulness and humor become the starting points to launch creativity.

Everyone C*A*N

What do you say to an asphalt elephant?

During this time of pandemic and politics,  I use creativity and explore; antennae ready for everything along the paths I travel. Fantasy and reality mesh and meet my attention. The discoveries of the day will wriggle into future ideas. They percolate in my brain while I'm helping others discover  their own "ways in."  

Through Curiosity, Awareness and Noticing (C*A*N), opportunities build focus during times of challenge. 

Writing has its own rhythm.  We need patience and word shuffle. Also, we must learn to distract ourselves at certain times and become demanding during other situations. Each writer's temperament requires a different carrot and stick. Learn yours.

Play time and the engagement with nature offers sensory perceptions. Then we C*A*N gather experiences and interactions to use in a variety of ways.

My cell camera assists me to add another layer of creativity to the day. Often an incident such as a Great Blue Heron landing on the water will happen far out of the camera's focus.  My notepad will provide the space for word pictures. I scribble and record the effects of atmosphere on my temperament of the moment.

What a discovery to experience an elephant who extended its trunk and smiled from the grass.

Enrich yourself with C*A*N