As an adult, I had a television in my bedroom for about five years. Not only that, but the alarm clock is right next to my head, my phone sits on the nightstand, and my laptop was on the floor beside the bed. My doctor said I should remove all of these things from my room to eliminate all the electrical energy from my room. I removed the TV and laptop, and whaddayaknow, I sleep better, with less crazy dreams.
On Absolute Write Water Cooler there was recently a conversation about creativity being squashed by so many distractions, and it got me thinking - are we killing our imagination?
I've always tended to have the TV playing in the background, or music, as I came from a large family, and have a busy house, therefore, I'm accustomed to a more chaotic home. But, could all of these things be interfering with my 'what-if' factor?
The poster of the question was concerned by his lack of ideas-no matter how much television he watched, how many news clips he read, etc he couldn't seem to find fresh ideas. Could these outside influences be killing the gene responsible for our outlandish ideas?
Most of my ideas come from my dreams. Of course, at times they've come from other 'what-if' circumstances, or hit me while on the back of my husband's Road King, but I tend to remember the dreams and nightmares more often. Which, by the way, would contradict the whole 'remove the clock and phone from beside your bed' idea.
Do you rely on outside stimuli to awaken your creative senses? Or do you prefer a solitary walk to get the juices flowing? Do you need silence, or do you prefer some inspirational music to get you in the mood?
I think for me, I'm so distracted by this gadget or that one that I'm not following through with my creativity. I think, "oh, I could make this book/movie/whatever better" but then I don't even try because I'm on to my next gadget-related activity. I do get a lot of ideas from life around me, and that does include TV and books, but then it ends there--I personally need to get rid of the distractions and focus on being creative...at least until it becomes natural again. It's like love--the more you do it, the more you have. If I give love, I get more back. If I behave creatively (writing, crafting, etc.) then I find that I can be more creative. We just need to step back from the gadgets. I'll do that...tomorrow :)
ReplyDeleteFor me, I get my ideas from weirdness around me that I exaggerate...for example, there is this house in my neighborhood that is abandoned, uncared for, and has been allowed to become an epic, unruly mess that no one has done a thing about. I wrote a short story about how it is haunted! Things like that always get me! For me, I just need to pay attention to what is around me and my brain will run wild...
ReplyDeleteBut I hear ya on distractions, my cell and laptop are huge distractions!
I actually face this all the time! As I've gotten older, I can't stand silence. I become agitated, anxious. But I've realized that it's because I don't want to face things inside. I'd rather drown it all out with the noise. I've got to learn to be still in the silence. There's so much we miss in our lives because of technology! As a writer, my ideas come from my life around me and if I'm too engaged in my cellphone, etc., I'm missing the chance to be immersed in life and filling my idea pool. Not to mention connecting on a personal level with others.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.askepticaloptimist.com