What Inspires the Most Creative People We Know

What Inspires the Most Creative People We Know – Oprah.com.

I have been thinking a lot these last few weeks about what creativity means to me and what inspires me to feel and be creative. I have made a resolution with myself that 2011 is going to be a year focused on creativity. I have been immersing myself in different forms of creativity.

So what inspires me to feel and be creative? Beauty inspires me. The beauty found in the natural world around us. The beauty of a child’s laugh; unashamed and full-hearted. The beauty of love in an old couple. The beauty of gathering clouds before a storm. The beauty of sunbeams striking a path through heavy clouds.

I have also been doing a lot of photography this year. I have really found that the ordinary can truly be transformed into the extraordinary when looked at through the view finder of my digital camera.

Words also inspire me. I often find that if I come across a new word that I am unfamiliar with, I take note of it. I then go look it up in the dictionary and thesaurus. I challenge myself to use this new word in a few sentences. I love the sounds of certain words. My favourite words are: Zephyr, Serendipity, Surreal, Radiance, Effervescence, Subtle, Gossamer, Effusive, Ephemeral, Sublime, Lyricism.

zephyr |ˈzefər|noun1 poetic/literary a soft gentle breeze.2 historical a fine cotton gingham.• a very light article of clothing.ORIGIN late Old English zefferus, denoting a personification of the west wind, via Latin from Greek zephuros ‘(god of) the west wind.’ Sense 1 dates from the late 17th cent.

serendipity |ˌserənˈdipitē|nounthe occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way : a fortunate stroke of serendipity | a series of small serendipities.DERIVATIVESserendipitous |-ˈdipitəs| |ˈsɛrənˈdɪpədəs| adjectiveserendipitously |ˈsɛrənˈdɪpədəsli| adverbORIGIN 1754: coined by Horace Walpole, suggested by The Three Princes of Serendip, the title of a fairy tale in which the heroes “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.”

surreal |səˈrēəl|adjectivehaving the qualities of surrealism; bizarre : a surreal mix of fact and fantasy.DERIVATIVESsurreality |ˌsərēˈalitē| |ˈsəriˈølədi| |-ˈalɪti| nounsurreally |səˈriəli| adverbORIGIN 1930s: back-formation from surrealism .

radiance |ˈrādēəns|noun1 light or heat as emitted or reflected by something : the radiance of the sunset dwindled and died.• great happiness, apparent in someone’s expression or bearing : the radiance of the bride’s smile.• a glowing quality of the skin, esp. as indicative of good health or youth.2 Physics the flux of radiation emitted per unit solid angle in a given direction by a unit area of a source.

effervescent |ˌefərˈvesənt|adjective(of a liquid) giving off bubbles; fizzy.DERIVATIVESeffervescence nounORIGIN late 17th cent.: from Latin effervescent- ‘boiling up,’ from the verb effervescere (see effervesce ).

subtle |ˈsətl|adjective ( -tler , -tlest )(esp. of a change or distinction) so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe : his language expresses rich and subtle meanings.• (of a mixture or effect) delicately complex and understated : subtle lighting.• making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something : he tried a more subtle approach.• capable of making fine distinctions : a subtle mind.• arranged in an ingenious and elaborate way.• archaic crafty; cunning.DERIVATIVESsubtleness |ˈsədlnəs| nounsubtly |ˈsədli| adverbORIGIN Middle English (also in the sense [not easily understood] ): from Old French sotil, from Latin subtilis ‘fine, delicate.’ .

gossamer |ˈgäsəmər|nouna fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders, which is seen esp. in autumn.• used to refer to something very light, thin, and insubstantial or delicate : in the light from the table lamp, his hair was blond gossamer.adjective [ attrib. ]made of or resembling gossamer : gossamer wings.DERIVATIVESgossamery |ˈgɑsəˈmɛri| adjectiveORIGIN Middle English : apparently from goose + summer 1 , perhaps from the time of year around St. Martin’s summer, i.e., early November, when geese were eaten (gossamer being common then).

effusive |iˈfyoōsiv|adjective1 expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner : an effusive welcome. See note at sentimental .2 Geology (of igneous rock) poured out when molten and later solidified.• of or relating to the eruption of large volumes of molten rock.DERIVATIVESeffusively |əˈfjusəvli| |iˈfjusəvli| |əˈfjuzəvli| |iˈfjuzəvli| adverbeffusiveness |əˈfjusɪvn1s| |iˈfjusɪvn1s| |əˈfjuzɪvn1s| |iˈfjuzɪvn1s| noun

ephemeral |əˈfem(ə)rəl|adjectivelasting for a very short time : fashions are ephemeral. See note at temporary .• (chiefly of plants) having a very short life cycle.nounan ephemeral plant.DERIVATIVESephemerality |əˌfeməˈralitē| |əˈfɛm(ə)ˈrølədi| |iˈfɛm(ə)ˈrølədi| |-ˈralɪti| nounephemerally |əˈfɛm(ə)rəli| |iˈfɛm(ə)rəli| adverbephemeralness |əˈfɛm(ə)rəlnəs| |iˈfɛm(ə)rəlnəs| nounORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Greek ephēmeros (see ephemera ) + -al .

sublime |səˈblīm|

adjective

( -limer , -limest )of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe : Mozart’s sublime piano concertos | [as n. ] ( the sublime) experiences that ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.• used to denote the extreme or unparalleled nature of a person’s attitude or behavior : he had the sublime confidence of youth.verb1 [ intrans. ] Chemistry (of a solid substance) change directly into vapor when heated, typically forming a solid deposit again on cooling.• [ trans. ] cause (a substance) to do this : these crystals could be sublimed under a vacuum.2 [ trans. ] archaic elevate to a high degree of moral or spiritual purity or excellence.

DERIVATIVESsublimely |səˈblaɪmli| adverbsublimity |-ˈblimitē| |səˈblɪmədi| |-ˈlɪmɪti| nounORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense [dignified, aloof] ): from Latin sublimis, from sub- ‘up to’ + a second element perhaps related to limen ‘threshold,’ limus ‘oblique.’

lyricism |ˈlirəˌsizəm|nounan artist’s expression of emotion in an imaginative and beautiful way; the quality of being lyrical.

Your task for this week is to choose 11 of your favourite words and use them in some way, either in a piece of prose or poem.

Your second task for the week is to find a new word per day and memorise it.

Meditate on what creativity means to you this week. What inspires you to feel and be creative? How can you be more creative? How will you inspire others to be creative?

I will post my piece of prose or poetry up here tomorrow inspired by my 11 favourite words.

Some famous thoughts on creativity:

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” — Alan Alda

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”  — Henry David Thoreau

“Creativity is… seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.” — Michele Shea

© All Rights Reserved Kim Koning.

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