Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Creativity: The Bucket is Never Empty

There was a time when I absolutely refused to create a bucket list. You know that list of things you want to do before you die. Just the idea that the bucket would be empty and then I would die was more than this small town girl could wrap her mind around. All I could think was, why are those people in such a hurry to do all those things? Don't they know that when the bucket is empty their life is over? It was wrong on so many levels I cannot even begin to tell you why.
I often talked about my fear of the bucket list. My friends really didn't understand why I was resisting the idea. Someone pointed out to me that I could keep adding things to it, new ideas and goals and adventures. For some reason I thought that I would run out of things to do. It kept me from even thinking about those things I would wish for or set out to do. In fact, up until this very day I have never given a bucket list a try.

Then along came Maya Angelou, one of the wisest women I have ever known. She didn't pretend to know everything I don't think and she surely didn't need to be perfect. But in the end it was all about her creativity. In a Maya Angelou quote posted by Mrs. AOK as a writing prompt, Ms. Angelou referred to the endless possibilities of creativity. She said:
"You can't use up your creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
The truth is that if I had a bucket list, it would be full of idea, creative notions and bobbles. Those things would be all the things I need to create and experience. If Ms. Angelou is right I would not need to add things, they would simply multiply on their own. I love that concept that creativity is multiplied each time we use it. Isn't that wonderful?

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20 Places You Should See Before You Die

8 comments:

  1. The only thing for sure on my bucket list is seeing Stevie Wonder live in concert, and attending the Masters Golf tournament. I'm just 'winging' everything else. :)

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    1. I love your two choices for possible adventures. Golf is a love of mine and of course Stevie Wonder is a wonder. Good luck.

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  2. I do like that quote by Angelou about creativity increasing with use. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I don't have a bucket list either--in part because I don't want to think about being "done" and in part because I have lived long enough to know that my interest, priorities and values can reshuffle every now and then. I can't know now what I want to do for the next 3 or 4 decades. I have to be flexible. That's a key part to good mental health. All my best to you, Barbara with your non-bucket non-list!

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    1. You have hit the nail on the head...being flexible is really what it is all about. I might add that I think being open to change is a mindset we all need to embrace. I see those that have those skills and those who don't. The ones that don't fade away faster than one can imagine.

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  3. We may be kindred spirits, I was resisting the "bucket list" too. It seems so final. Perhaps, it's the word bucket... I don't want to think about "kicking the bucket". I want my bucket to overflow.
    I believe a life lived will multiply with opportunity, goals, and creativeness.
    Cheers to checking things off our list and adding more, and more, and more... :)

    Thanks for joining me!
    XOXO

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    1. Mrs. AOK,

      I hadn't thought about the word "bucket". It really is not a lovely image is it? I would rather fill a beautiful basket with all those things we want to accomplish. Thanks for stopping by.

      b+

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  4. I've always said that I'd have to live to 200 to do all the things I'd like to try. Gotta figure out how to fund most of the current items, though.

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    1. Yes, there is the matter of finances...it is always hanging out there isn't it?

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