The Glinda Guide to Creativity

Absurdity breeds creativity. At least that's what Psyblog claims.

And I think they might be right.

While many of us wish that life would come with a map, it's the unmapped experiences that often seem to spark the most new thinking. The dynamic? Absurdity is a meaning-threat that causes us to want to... make meaning. This can be good news on the Creativity Front, especially for parents of toddlers and teens, don't you think? :)



This past weekend we went to New York City. It was a whirlwind trip, barely planned.



Teen girls in tow, we mostly let our days unfold. The city is its own brand of absurdity. The show we attended (Wicked) was too. I came home in a kind of bubble, my mind filled with rainbow magical thoughts, my creativity lifted.

Psyblog doesn't follow up with it's assertion about the relationship of Absurdity to Creativity, but I'm guessing it's important to have a rhythm in place. I'm guessing that non-stop absurdity might not be beneficial (and this is why we must put our toddlers and teens to bed at a reasonable hour :). I'm guessing it is also useful to extend our Creative ideas over time, after our absurd experiences.

So here I am, thinking about Glinda again. Three's a charm, so they say.