Creative Thinking

Creative Journal – Entry Two – Creative Thinking
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Creative thinking is thinking beyond the constraints of what I should, or ought, to think. I am able to travel anywhere in my mind and think of anything I please. I have no limits. Coming up with unique and outlandish thoughts is acceptable and even good. I can write from this place of safety and non-judgment. Sometimes my thoughts get predictable and are not very creative. It is then that I find myself unable to write or create anything of worth. Often I want some inspiration to bring myself into a creative state of mind. My everyday life is not always inspirational and I cannot necessarily pull inspiration into myself.

Creative thinking solves problems and moves me beyond my normal experience. It helps me deal with the issues of my life. Even when I am not inspired, some measure of creativity informs my days. I would face infinite boredom were I not a creative person. I have to think creatively to move beyond a constant sense of depression and defeatism. Creative thinking is optimistic, seeing the good in even mundane situations. Creative thinking makes walking Hope on the same path repeatedly into an adventure. It makes the subtle changes in scenery and the attitude of the dog a delight. Creative thinking makes routine tasks interesting and worthwhile. It gives me gifts of insight and encouragement. Ordinary things become extraordinary when viewed creatively. Creative thinking allows me to move outside myself and look at things from different perspectives. I can see more than one side of a problem when I engage creatively.

Last night I went to bed about 11:45 and woke at 5:50 this morning. With Mom gone, I have to sleep with both Hope and Ko-Ko. Ko-Ko is only five months old and wants to play early in the morning. She woke me licking my face. Even so, I had a lot more sleep than the night before and I feel better this morning.

The funeral for Terry went well yesterday. June is coping well. I feel so sorry for her, but I know Mom’s being with her is a great comfort. I am glad to watch over things here while Mom is away. She will not be coming home until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest.

It is nice to have the house to myself. I can do whatever pleases me. I am not too constrained when Mom is home. Some of her habits like running the television so much are a little annoying. She eats on an earlier schedule than I like and I usually feel obliged to eat when she does so we can share our meals. I am listening to more music, and at a higher volume, than I am able to when she is home. I eat when I get hungry and that works well for me too.

This morning I finished reading Creative Journal Writing by Stephanie Dowrick. I read the whole book and am going back to do all the excellent exercises. It will take months to finish them. I found this a very inspiring book. I am handling the process a little differently than she suggests. I am journaling on the laptop and she recommends writing free hand in a paper-based journal. She recommends keeping the journal completely private and I am sharing mine with the Journal Writing group. I guess as with most things I have to take what works for me and disregard the rest. I may even eventually post some of what I write here on my blog. I need to bring the blog up to date and post regular entries there. I have rather neglected it for some time.

I kept my weekly food journal for one week. It is interesting to look back over what I have eaten. Writing down my consumption limits it. I find it amusing that it works that way, but I do not want to eat as much so I will not have to write down great quantities of food. It would be embarrassing to have a huge list, even with only me looking at the journal. I am one weird person.

Well that is all for now. I have to get dressed and walk Hope while there is a break in the rain.

Always,
Jo Ann